Photo: Twitter / TrafficSA
Photo: Twitter / TrafficSA
One year on from the Cape Town Shutdown 2018 protest, a demonstration marking the anniversary is set to take place on Wednesday morning. Several key traffic routes in and out of the Mother City will be severely affected, but organisers have vowed to keep things calm, with “burning tyres” banned by the group.
Now, the Cape Town Shutdown looks to tap into that rebellious spirit of rage once more. In a statement posted to their social media channels, they suggest that a recent spate of crimes against women should motivate more people to join in with their civil disruptions:
“The current spate of gender based violence, especially on the Cape Flats, has managed to galvanise our communities across the race and class divide. But sadly, our [previous] protests had limited intervention from the state. Except for the establishment of the Anti-Gang Unit, our demands remain unanswered.”
“The brutal murders of two university students, Uyinene Mrweteyana and Jesse Hess, ensured that Cape Town was flooded with protest actions for the bigger part of the last few weeks. Our people united. Yet, we need that same kind of unity to fight crime and poverty as well.”
Cape Town Shutdown
Last month, local agitators Gatvol Capetonian brought commuters to a standstill with their demonstrations. However, the two protests are not linked, and the Cape Town Shutdown lists a different set of motivations. As well as asking for better service delivery, their demands are as follows:
End SANDF deployment on the Cape Flats; permanent base camps, tactical response units and SAPS reallocations in “hot zones”; create a mass “public works” programme; build drug rehab centres in poor communities; employ more social workers and teachers; declare the Western Cape a disaster area; and install a police presence on train, bus and taxi routes.
Organisers have stated that the demonstrations will last for five hours. They plan to get going before sunrise in the Mother City, with protests scheduled to start at 5:00 on Wednesday 25 September. The disruptions will end by 10:00. The proposals mean that peak morning rush hour traffic will be heavily impacted.
So far, there are eight confirmed regions where protests will get underway early doors:
It seems like Cape Town Shutdown won’t be waiting another year to kick-off again, either. They are incandescent that their voices have been largely ignored over the past 12 months, with only one request granted. The group have since threatened another shutdown “within seven days” if their demands aren’t taken seriously.