EFF slams government deploying ‘militarised spectacle’ against protest at Kleinfontein

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Gauteng slammed the government for deploying what they call a “militarised spectacle” of over 50 police vehicles, armoured Nyala trucks, and tactical units during their legally sanctioned protest at Kleinfontein, a self-proclaimed whites-only enclave east of Tshwane.

Friday march, framed by the EFF as a “revolutionary defiance” against apartheid-era exclusion, targeted the settlement’s ongoing enforcement of racial segregation—a practice persisting decades after apartheid was globally condemned as a crime against humanity.

Kleinfontein, established in 1992 as an Afrikaner-only community east of Pretoria, continues to restrict residency and employment to “Boere-Afrikaners,” flouting both zoning laws and a 2024 Gauteng High Court ruling that declared the enclave illegal.

The EFF labeled the settlement a “crime against humanity,” accusing the state of tacitly enabling its existence through systemic tolerance of white supremacy.

“This is not about zoning violations; it’s about dismantling the arrogance of apartheid nostalgia,” the party declared.

The EFF condemned the disproportionate police mobilisation as a politically charged overreaction, arguing that the deployment of razor wire and armed private security exposed the state’s prioritisation of white anxieties over constitutional rights to protest.

“Why drown a peaceful march in militarised theatrics while violent criminals terrorise Black townships like Atteridgeville, Soshanguve and Mamelodi?” the party questioned, highlighting stark contradictions in law enforcement priorities.

Amid the crackdown, the EFF warned that such actions risked exposing South Africa democratic facade, arguing that true liberation requires land restitution and economic emancipation.

Vowing to escalate efforts to dissolve exclusionary enclaves, the party concluded: “Democracy cannot coexist with apartheid arrogance. This march is a clarion call to reclaim justice.