One protest is more equal than another

Cape Town mayor, Helen Zille, has condemned the violent protests on the N2 near Cape Town. The protests have prompted the closure of the road in both directions between Vanguard Drive and Bunga Avenue.

Police vehicles are reportedly being stoned and a delivery truck has been set alight.

Anti-Eviction Campaigner Mzonke Poni says the protest is a result of their dissatisfaction with plans to relocate them to temporary houses in the Delft area.

Zille says the protest is against the way the Western Cape government is managing the N2 Gateway housing project and not against service delivery by the City of Cape Town.

"I have been fully briefed; the protest is against the removals in relation to the N2 gateway housing project. The city has been removed from that project and the protest is about the way the Western Cape government is managing that project" Zille said.

Wrongful arrest
Meanwhile, Zille says she may sue the police for wrongful arrest. She was arrested and released on a warning yesterday following a march that involved visits to known drug dealers in Mitchells Plain on the Cape Flats.

Zille faces a charge of violating the Gatherings Act. Earlier, Western Cape acting premier Leonard Ramatlakane accused Zille of embracing people who had strong links to vigilantism in the province.

He says has she has contravened the law in her quest for public support.

However, Zille has stressed that the gathering she was part of was granted permission to march.

SABC