Carl Niehaus stage one-man protest against Cyril Ramaphosa
Carl Niehaus, the spokesperson for the Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA), kept his promise to protest President Cyril Ramaphosa when the ANC's National Executive Committee met over the weekend. Despite the rain and poor weather, Niehaus stood outside the Nasrec centre, where top ANC leaders were meeting, and demanded that Ramaphosa resign. And he
Carl Niehaus stage one-man protest against Cyril Ramaphosa
Carl Niehaus, the spokesperson for the Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA), kept his promise to protest President Cyril Ramaphosa when the ANC’s National Executive Committee met over the weekend.
Despite the rain and poor weather, Niehaus stood outside the Nasrec centre, where top ANC leaders were meeting, and demanded that Ramaphosa resign.
And he did it mostly alone, as he did in Durban in July during the ANC KwaZulu-Natal elective congress.
Despite a chorus of anti-Ramaphosa sentiment sweeping the country and the ANC itself amid the Phala-Phala saga swirling around the president, Niehaus received little support from his MKMVA and ANC colleagues.
And Twitter had a field day with it.
Picketing outside the @MYANC NEC meeting at NASREC now. Delivering the CLEAR, UNCOMPROMISING, message to all the members of the #ANCNEC: #RAMAPHOSAMUSTGO! pic.twitter.com/y56iZOm5Qo
— Carl Niehaus (@niehaus_carl) November 13, 2022
Tweeps mocked Niehaus for his one-man protest against Ramaphosa, referring to him mostly as “Oom” (uncle), while some were sympathetic to his cause, calling him a true revolutionary.
According to an IOL report, Niehaus’ protest was an attempt to exercise his freedom of expression by urging Ramaphosa to resign as ANC president, accusing him of bringing the ANC into disrepute and contributing to the country’s current state.
ANC comrades are cowards it takes Carl Mpangazitha alone to say CR must go!! Where are MKVA soldiers? Cowards of a note
— Condo Stan (@stan_condo) November 13, 2022
“Ramaphosa must go he has brought not only the ANC but the country to disrepute not only through the Phala Phala scandal which is not only a national, but an international scandal which touches on issues of money laundering, illicit international finances, tax evision, abduction, and torture … the whole range,” Niehaus said.
Niehaus said: “Anything less than the ANC NEC meeting this weekend deciding that Ramaphosa must immediately step down as president of the ANC, will be a moral and political failure of epic proportions. It will be unforgivable and if that happens every single truly revolutionary member of the ANC will have to throw down the gauntlet and demand that the whole NEC together with Ramaphosa must resign immediately.”
Twitter is great for comedy and Carl, you never fail to deliver ????
— Scott Gibson (@scotty_gibson) November 13, 2022
Despite an onslaught from his ANC detractors, Ramaphosa survived an intense NEC meeting over the weekend where he was forced to defend himself against the Phala Phala scandal, in which millions of US dollars were stolen from his farm and stuffed in cushions.
Great crowd. Your support is overwhelming. I am sure CR is shivering in his boots. pic.twitter.com/gICFfj2odj
— Jason Penrose (@jason_penrose23) November 13, 2022
Several party leaders demanded that he step down during the meeting, but Ramaphosa and his supporters resisted.
On Sunday afternoon, Ramaphosa concluded the meeting without mentioning Phala Phala or the calls for him to step down.
