The Western Cape African National Congress (ANC) on Thursday suspended a member for allegedly instigating violent protests on the N2 which left two buses gutted.

“The ANC has found the member to have brought the party into disrepute, making certain false allegations against the ANC and threatening to commit public violence,” provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs said.

The individual allegedly said: “We are going to continue to make the N2 chaotic and unstable.”

The ANC considered this irresponsible and inciting violence.

The party was sensitive to protests over candidates nominated for the August 3 municipal elections after looting, protesting, and destruction of property in parts of Tshwane. Five people were killed.

The Tshwane protesters rejected the party's selection of National Assembly chairperson Thoko Didiza as the metro’s mayoral candidate. They wanted current Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa to stay for another term.

The ANC told its members nothing could be done to change the candidate lists.

Buses set alight

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) had been checking supporting documentation for candidate submissions and was expected to release final candidate lists on Friday.

On Wednesday night, two buses were set alight during a protest on the N2 near the Cape Town International Airport. Stones were thrown and some motorists were robbed.

Police said two people were arrested.

GroundUp reported that the protest was over the change of the Ward 40 councillor candidate without residents' consent. Ward 40 is in Gugulethu, one of the poorer areas of Cape Town.

Residents had nominated Bongani Mbili, but he was removed from the list and replaced by Bongani Ngcombolo.

The ANC said it could not allow individual members to hold them to ransom, and urged them to complain through party structures.

“The loose rhetoric by some members that, causing destruction and chaos is their last resort to get attention from the ANC cannot possibly be true, and we reject that as a justification to cause destruction.”

ANC Western Cape spokesperson Yonela Diko said the suspended member was not suspected of burning the buses or stoning and robbing people. But he was regarded as one of the instigators.

Diko said that out of 389 wards the party would contest in the August 3 municipal elections, only five have been identified as possible flashpoints. Ward 40 is one of them.

The others are:

- Ward 97: which covers Driftsands (south-west of N2 Freeway, north-west of Baden Powell Drive, north of Lansdowne Road, Umrhabulo Triangle and Silvertown Build-up, (south-east of Spine Road)- Mandela Park (north-east of Govan Mbeki Road), - Umrhabulo Triangle;

- Ward 87: Bongani (south of Lansdowne Road) - Mxolisi Phetani;

- Ward 93: Barney Molokwana Corner (North-east of Lansdowne Road) - Sabata Dalindyebo Square - Silvertown;

- Ward 36: Crossroads (South of N2 Freeway, east of New Eisleben Road and north of Lansdowne Road) - Nyanga.