Teargas Chaos At G20 Summit As MK Party And Operation Dudula Protesters Clash With SAPS

Members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) clashed with Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party supporters and Operation Dudula activists on Saturday morning near the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.

The group had gathered ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, insisting they wanted to speak directly to President Cyril Ramaphosa and other world leaders.

A protest leader, dressed in MK party gear, told journalists that authorities had confined them to an area roughly a kilometre away from the main venue.

“The whole point of picketing is to ensure that we send a strong message to the dignitaries attending the G20,” the protest leader said.

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“The situation is that we are placed almost a kilometre away from the Nasrec Expo Centre, whereas Section 17 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa allows us to protest — to picket at least 100 meters away.”

The leader said the group felt sidelined, arguing that their designated protest zone was too far from the international gathering to be effective.

“Here we are placed in front of ordinary traffic, people going to Southgate Mall. It is not them we want to talk to.

“The people we want to talk to are President Ramaphosa and all the dignitaries, the world leaders that are attending the G20 Summit. What SAPS is doing is actually unfair, and they are depriving us of our constitutional rights,” he said.

SAPS Uses Teargas as Tensions Rise Near G20 Summit

According to the SABC, SAPS deployed teargas to disperse the demonstrators after tensions escalated near the summit’s perimeter. Officers maintained a heavy presence throughout the morning as protesters continued to push for closer access to the venue.

Operation Dudula activists who joined the protest said they were prepared to face arrest if required.

“If they want to shoot us, they must shoot us,” one Dudula activist insisted.

SurgeZirc SA had earlier reported that Operation Dudula leader Zandile Dabula was pepper-sprayed by the police.

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