ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte has accused a group of former president Jacob Zuma's supporters of calling for the second phase of the recent riots that gripped KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The ANC said it was keeping a close eye on the group, which calls itself the #FreeJacobZuma campaign.
The riots took place amid calls for Zuma’s release from Estcourt prison where he is serving a 15-month jail term for contempt of court.
The group announced on Wednesday it was planning an intensification of the push for Zuma’s release through “several key programmes of action” that would be peaceful and legal.
The group includes some of Zuma’s staunchest backers such as Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) spokesperson Carl Niehaus, former ANC Youth League deputy president Andile Lungisa, former regional secretary Lopang Rothman and radical economic transformation (RET) group leader Nkosentsha Shezi.
The group said it was planning and organising protest action in support of Zuma when he appears for his arms deal trial before the Pietermaritzburg high court on August 10, which it said would form part of other actions that would “ultimately culminate in community-based rolling mass action throughout the country”.
Duarte said the ANC was carefully studying the statement by the #FreeJacobZuma campaign.
“We understand that it is the call for a second phase of protests, and hopefully the planners understand that it cannot continue in the manner that they wish to. Democracy has opened its doors for people to assemble and air their views. Our country has never stopped people from freedom of speech and assembly but what we cannot allow is for people to instigate violence,” she said.
Duarte accused Zuma’s backers of making him a scapegoat and using his name to instigate the violence, adding that law enforcement agencies had to pounce on more people who had been behind the recent riots.
She said the party was concerned about the statement made by the group, adding that while the violent riots had been thwarted, there was the threat of a re-emergence.
“So, it has failed but it does not mean that the people who are planning are not continuing to plan. They may have softened the approach but they are certainly not stopping what they are trying to do,” she said.
Duarte said there was enough evidence to show that the recent acts of violence were well orchestrated, a claim the group has denied.
“What we cannot avoid telling you is that we watched as SMSs were rolling out. Facebook and other places were discussing where the violence would take place and indeed it happened where the faceless people said it would happen. To deny that it was planned or it was orchestrated is futile. It is best that we get on with the task of understanding the core reason for that,” Duarte said.
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