The African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday condemned the looting of shops in the central business district during a Congress of South African Students (Cosas) protest march to the ruling party's headquarters, Luthuli House.
Thousands of school children marched through the city to the ANC headquarters where they handed in a memorandum demanding, among other things, the end to violence at schools, fast-tracking of infrastructure and the removal of teachers who are known to be sexual predators.
During the march, several shops including a bottle store, cellphone dealer and hair salon were looted by schoolchildren who were dressed in uniforms.
He said the ANC was concerned that these acts of lawlessness detract from the noble objectives of the march and the legitimacy of students’ demands.
The acting national spokesperson of the party Dakota Legoete says they are deeply disappointed that some of the marchers deviated from the commitment given by Cosas leadership to conduct the march in a peaceful and disciplined manner. The party was also concerned that these acts of lawlessness detract from the noble objectives of the march and the legitimacy of students’ demands.
The ANC urged We urge Cosas law-enforcement agencies to identify the culprits and to ensure that they are brought to book.
- African News Agency (ANA)
