Mandela Day: These streets affected by marches in Tshwane
The Union Buildings lawns in Tshwane with a statute of late former president Nelson Mandela. Picture: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
As the country celebrates Mandela Day on Friday, some roads in the City of Tshwane are expected to be a no-go zone due to two planned marches.
Marchers are expected to use their 67 minutes to voice their frustrations to a number of issues.
Streets in and around the City of Tshwane are expected to be severely affected.
In the first march, MK party members from Gauteng will be marching through the city demanding that perpetrators mentioned by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) top cop Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to be arrested.
Mkhwanazi
At a press conference last week, Mkhwanazi alleged political interference in police operations, claiming that Mchunu and Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection, Shadrack Sibiya, had meddled.
The City of Tshwane said the marchers will gather at Church Square in Pretoria Central from 10am and proceed to Maupa Naga Building, Corner Park Street and Troye Street, Sunnyside.
'From the gathering point, they will join Paul Kruger Street, turn left onto Francis Baard Street, turn right onto Park Street and proceed until they reach their destination at Maupa Naga Building. They are expected to disperse from the Maupa Naga Building at 14:00.
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The following streets will be affected:
Paul Kruger Street
Madiba Street
Pretorius Street
Francis Baard Street
Thabo Sehume Street
Lilian Ngoyi Street
Sisulu Street
Du Toit Street
Nelson Mandela Drive
Steve Biko Road
Park Street
Motorists are advised to use alternative routes such as
Nana Sita Street
Struben Street
Stanza Bopape Street
Leyds Drive
Visagie Street
Bosman Street
Eskia Mphahlele Drive
The Tshwane Metro Police and South African Police Service (Saps) officers will be deployed to monitor the march and all affected streets.
Ramaphosa resignation
In the second march, Defend South Africa will be taking to the streets to demand the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The march is expected to take place in collaboration with the United Civic Movements.
They will be marching against the rising costs, unemployment, uncontrolled illegal immigration, crime, corruption, Phala Phala scandal and the state of the South African National Defence Force, among other issues.
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Gathering
The City of Tshwane said the marchers will gather at the Old Putco Depot in Marabastad from 10am and move to the Union Buildings.
'From the gathering point they will join Struben Street then turn right onto Sophy de Bruyn Street, turn left onto Madiba Street and proceed until they reach the Union Buildings. They are expected to disperse from the Union Buildings by 14:30.'
The following streets will be affected:
Struben Street
Sophy de Bruyn Street
Madiba Street
Bosman Street
Paul Kruger Street
Thabo Sehume Street
Lillian Ngoyi Street
Sisulu Street
DuToit Street
Nelson Mandela Drive
Steve Biko Street
Hamilton Street
Motorists are advised to use alternative routes such as:
Visagie Street
Nana Sita Street
Stanza Bopape Street
Pretorius Street
Eskia Mphahlele Drive
The Tshwane Metro Police and South African Police Service (Saps) officers will be deployed to monitor the march and all affected streets.
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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ To use it now as cover for endorsing colonialism is betrayal incarnate. And the financial allegations? Reports suggest Moroccan incentives have swayed the MK party's stance, turning policy into a transaction. 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This is counterrevolutionary betrayal: a former freedom fighter aiding imperialism, diluting the ethos of Mandela, Hani, and Sankara for personal vendettas and gain. The 'Autonomy Plan'? A Bantustan redux: nominal local rule under Rabat's boot, echoing apartheid's segregated Homelands – unviable puppets denying true freedom. As the late revolutionary icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela aptly put it in her 2010 speech on Western Sahara, 'We also experienced an attempt at so-called autonomy. Several 'Bantustans', which were ethnically based, totally unviable, 'independent' states, were created on 13% of the most unproductive parts of the country. They were led by puppet dictators. The people rejected these 'countries' outright despite some having been given official recognition by certain Western and African countries.' This led her to suggest that Morocco must have taken lessons from the apartheid regimes. To fully grasp why Zuma's endorsement of this plan is so odious, one must understand the short but brutal history of the oppression of the Sahrawi people. Western Sahara, a vast desert territory on Africa's northwest coast, was colonised by Spain in 1884, becoming known as Spanish Sahara. The indigenous Sahrawi, nomadic Arab-Berber tribes with a rich cultural heritage of poetry, camel herding, and resistance, endured harsh Spanish rule for nearly a century. By the 1970s, as decolonisation swept the continent, the Sahrawis formed the Polisario Front in 1973 to demand independence, inspired by global anti-colonial movements. Spain's withdrawal in 1975, amid UN calls for a self-determination referendum, opened the door to betrayal. Morocco, under King Hassan II, launched the 'Green March' – a mass civilian invasion backed by military forces – claiming historical ties dismissed by the International Court of Justice. Simultaneously, Mauritania invaded from the south. The secret Madrid Accords partitioned the territory, ignoring Sahrawi rights and sparking a guerrilla war. Mauritania withdrew in 1979, but Morocco annexed its share, escalating oppression. Moroccan forces bombed civilian camps with napalm and phosphorus, displacing over 100,000 Sahrawis into Algerian refugee camps, where generations have grown up in exile. Morocco's tactics grew more insidious: constructing the 2,700-kilometre Berm wall in the 1980s – fortified with landmines, radar, and troops – to bisect the territory and contain Polisario fighters. This 'wall of shame' symbolises division, trapping Sahrawis in poverty while Morocco exploits phosphates, fisheries, and potential oil reserves worth billions. Human rights abuses abound: arbitrary arrests, torture, forced disappearances, and suppression of Sahrawi culture and language. A 1991 UN ceasefire promised an independence referendum, but Morocco has obstructed it for decades, proposing instead the Autonomy Plan – limited self-rule under its sovereignty, excluding full freedom. The 2020 ceasefire collapse, triggered by Moroccan incursions, reignited low-intensity conflict, with Polisario resuming armed resistance. Over 170,000 Sahrawi refugees remain in Algerian camps, facing food shortages and harsh conditions, while occupied zones see protests met with brutality. This oppression, violating over 100 UN resolutions, echoes colonial patterns, denying self-determination and perpetuating Africa's last colony. As the EFF, we reject it with the utter contempt that it deserves; we will continue to protest, boycott, and demand justice. Zuma's actions won't deter us; they fuel our revolutionary fire. We call for probes into the MK party's financial ties with the very wealthy Moroccan Royal family, mass protests, and AU expulsion for Morocco. Forward to liberation for the Sahrawi people. The betrayal and oppression of the Sahrawi people will certainly not be tolerated in our name. * Carl Niehaus is a Member of Parliament for the Economic Freedom Fighters. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
