Protests in South Africa
[8] Njabulo Ndebele argued, "Widespread 'service delivery protests' may soon take on an organisational character that will start off as discrete formations and then coalesce into a full-blown movement".
Notable South African journalist Phillip de Wet estimated that nine out of eleven protests were peaceful.
[40] Zwelinzima Vavi, COSATU Secretary General, has described the increasing rate of popular protests as a "ring of fire" closing in on major cities that could result in a Tunisia-style revolution.
[41][42] Some of the most notable protests during this period occurred in Harrismith, Kennedy Road, Durban, Diepsloot, Balfour, Thokoza,[43][44] Khutsong,[36] Macassar Village, Lansdowne Road[45][46] and Mandela Park[47][48] in Khayelitsha, KwaZakhele, downtown Durban,[49] Masiphumelele, Ermelo,[50] Grahamstown[38] and Thembelihle (Lenasia).
[52] Some commentators have concluded that "a large majority of South Africans feel that conventional mechanisms of engaging the state are failing, and that alternatives may be more effective".
[53] According to Professor Peter Alexander: "As many commentators and activists now accept, service delivery protests are part of a broader Rebellion of the Poor.
[58] The national trade union federation, COSATU, has also organised a number of large protests, most notably against labour broking and highway tolls.
[59][60] The 2012 Marikana miner strike, organised outside the ruling tripartite alliance, resulted in 34 strikers being killed by the police with 78 being wounded on 16 August 2012.
[115][116][117] More demonstrations occurred from 12 April onwards,[118] with Julius Malema addressing the crowd in Pretoria before they marched on the Union buildings.
A choreography of dance performing a call and response song, protest performance, is a tactic that is often used to beckon bystanders to a march or demonstration [156] In areas with high rates of popular protests residents tend to boycott elections, to support independent candidates or to support parties other than the ANC.
[162][172][173][174][175] It has been argued that people organizing independently of the ruling African National Congress are more likely to face state repression.
[10][176] The worst incidence of police violence in post-apartheid South Africa was the Marikana Massacre in August 2012 in which 34 striking miners were killed and 78 were injured.
