The South African Communist Party (SACP) will pursue charges over what it described as an assassination attempt against its deputy secretary-general Solly Mapaila on Monday. The alleged death threat against Mapaila took place on Monday during the 24th anniversary commemoration of SACP icon Chris Hani’s assassination.
The party says a man was captured on video with a gun as Mapaila took to the stage to address the crowd, but ultimately did not speak due to heavy rains.
In a statement on Monday, the SACP — a member of the governing tripartite alliance with the ANC and union federation Cosatu — condemned what it called "the abuse of state events to carry out assassination plots" and slammed the incident as a factional move.
The incident comes amid growing tensions between the SACP and the ANC over President Jacob Zuma, who the SACP has asked to step down over his recent Cabinet reshuffle, among other things. "The SACP will, today, lay charges with the police and will discuss the matter and other information it has gathered with alliance partners starting with the ANC," the SACP statement said
The statement claimed that the assassination attempt was part of growing threats and hostilities towards SACP leaders around the country, as it took place against the backdrop of "ongoing systemic murders of SACP members in Inchanga, KwaZulu-Natal".
"The SACP will intensify its efforts to tackle the rot politically by democratic means," the statement said. "This includes confronting corporate capture within the ranks of our movement and the state, corruption, rent-seeking, patronage and abuse of state resources and processes."
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