MK calls for calm among members, welcomes police deployment

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) has called for calm among its members, urging them to avoid involvement in any form of violence.

The party welcomed the deployment of police to KwaZulu-Natal following last week’s elections. The deployment of an additional 300 public order police is part of the government’s security plans.

Some believe the deployment is due to fears of possible violence from parties unhappy with the outcomes of the coalition talks and election results.

The MK party’s eThekwini region interim spokesperson Bonginkosi Dlamini says, “You have never heard any case of uMkhonto weSizwe being involved in any case of political violence. That is why we say to our members to be calm and be peaceful.”

“You know there have been some objections that have been made. We need to wait for our commander in chief Mr Jacob Zuma to tell us what is our next step,” says Dlamini.

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Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has described the deployment of additional police to the province as a positive development.

The party’s provincial leader Francois Rogers says, “The Democratic Alliance welcomes the announcement that there will be additional security forces placed on the ground in the province in the run-up to the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. Our province has a terrible past of political intolerance and violence, so this is certainly to be welcomed.”

“We hope that those forces have the necessary intelligence coming through from the ground so that any unrest can be dealt with swiftly. We also call on all political leaders and all parties to remain calm and to do what is in the best interest of the province and the people of KwaZulu-Natal,” Rogers adds.

Public Order Policing | 300 additional officers deployed to KZN