The ANC said it's concerned at what appears to be a climate of intimidation encroaching into South Africa's body politic.
Spokesperson, Khusela Sangoni, said in a statement on Sunday that in recent months there have been increasing reports of political leaders, activists and journalists who claimed to have been intimidated.
"The ANC considers these threats in a very serious light and calls on those who have been threatened to report such to law enforcement authorities who must verify these claims and investigate. Such behavior is an antitheses to the health and pluralistic society we seek to build where the contestation of ideas thrives," Sangoni said.
"Freedom of conscience and association are inalienable rights granted to all under the Constitution. South African history is littered with violence and media suppression. Political intolerance would take South Africa back to a painful past that should not be repeated," she said.
"Threats made against individuals because of their political or ideological beliefs is indicative of intellectual and moral bankruptcy. Those who plot in dark corners and make anonymous threats as well and other forms of intimidation of others should pursue principled and legitimate forms of engagement instead of resorting to cowardly acts," Sangoni added.
"The ANC calls on all South Africans to unite behind our common vision of a pluralistic society and jealously guard our hard won freedoms-including freedom of speech and association".
"We will not allow our country to become a breeding ground for political intolerance- which history has starkly shown can very quickly become a catalyst for anarchy and lawlessness," Sangoni concluded.
The Sunday Times reported that one of its reporters had received death threats while the SACP recently said that a man had pointed a gun at a senior party official during a recent public engagement in Johannesburg.
