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By Staff Reporter 
10h ago
Cape Town – Police have assured the City of Cape Town that they will be able to contain any threats at the planned EFF protest near Brackenfell High School on Friday.
The city of Cape Town called an urgent meeting with SAPS and other law enforcement authorities on Thursday morning in terms of Section 5 of the Gatherings Regulation Act.
The City said the meeting was called pursuant to receipt of an affidavit from education authorities expressing concerns about violence and intimidation related to the EFF protest.
SAPS, having considered the submission from the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), has confirmed that the police will be able to contain any threats arising from the EFF protest.
“Given this confirmation by the SAPS that each and every threat can be contained, the law does not provide any legal basis to prohibit the march. However, if the EFF violates any conditions, including the Covid-19 shutdown regulations, the SAPS must act, which may include a possible criminal penalty, ”the City said.
The Western Cape High Court recently refused to grant an urgent injunction against the protest, and Judge Siraj Desai accepted the EFF’s commitment that there will be no violence or disruption.
The Constitutional Court, in 2018, also declared unconstitutional some aspects of the Law on the Regulation of Meetings, which effectively prevents municipalities from having the authority to approve or reject meetings, protests or marches.
The city said police had committed to a high police presence in the Brackenfell area on Friday.
“A comprehensive operational plan has been established between SAPS, Metropolitan Police, Police and Traffic, together with the relevant Community Police Forums (CPF) and Neighborhood Watch (NHW).
“SAPS’s Law Enforcement plan includes establishing perimeters around the school and crowd management to protect students, teachers and school property,” the City said.
“The perimeter will help in terms of avoiding unnecessary conflict and ensuring that only the number of people authorized to participate in the protest can deliver a memorandum,” the City said.
“As with other large protests, SAPS and metropolitan police video units will be present to record events and incidents, to assist SAPS in prosecuting anyone involved in public violence.”
The City Council reiterated again the calls to the citizens to avoid the area to facilitate the police handling of the protest.
“It is essential that the protesters, residents or groups do not try to escalate the conflict. Parents are asked to adhere to requests communicated by the school regarding safety arrangements for Friday.
“The NHW and CPF community structures have been invited to play a constructive role in incident command that day, which will be coordinated through a mobile joint operations center.”
Any resident wishing to report emergencies that may arise during the protest can alert the City’s Emergency Communications Center at 107 from a landline or 021 4807700 from a cell phone.
Cape argus
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