The South African Communist Party (SACP) together with the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation on Thursday stated that it will be hosting a public rally on July 21 in defence of South Africa’s democracy.

SACP spokesperson Alex Mashilo called on South Africans to reaffirm their commitment to defending the country’s democracy and to confront State capture.

The organisations involved include SECTION27, Corruption Watch, Freedom Under Law, Helen Suzman Foundation, Peace Centre Business Leadership South Africa and others.

“South Africans should unite in confronting the ‘fighting’ and putting an end to State capture networks that continue to brazenly operate.” 

He went on to say that South Africa faced a concerted fightback against the renewal of society by many of those implicated in State capture and that theirs was an attempt to subvert the processes underway to rebuild efficient and ethical governance, so that they may remain unaccountable.

The organisations stated that during the rally they would make it clear that they refused to allow Ministers and public officials, and other whistle blowers, such as activists and journalists who speak out against State capture, to be targeted and defamed by political bullies and entities who sought to undermine their efforts.

Meanwhile, former President Jacob Zuma, who appeared before the State capture commission of inquiry from Monday, named former Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi as an Apartheid era spy who was recruited in Lesotho.

Mashilo said the organisations will challenge the peddling of such fake and often highly racialised narratives aimed at characterising those who fight State capture as being counter-revolutionaries, anti-black and anti-radical economic transformation.

He went on to say that it is extremely concerning that the discredited South African Revenue Service “rogue unit” narrative was being perpetuated yet again, adding that it was all the more disturbing because the effort is premised on recent reports by the Office of the Public Protector led by Busisiwe Mkhwebane.