It’s no secret that the EFF have basically declared war on statues they aren’t fond of across the country. We saw the Paul Kruger statue getting a fresh green coat of paint (before Steve Hofmeyr and his buddies vowed to protect it), as well as others across the country falling victim to varying degrees of damage.

This morning, after an EFF announcement of a planned march to call for its removal, Action Forum’s Johan Willemse decided to take drastic measures to save the Jan van Riebeeck statue in the city’s CBD . Willemse chained himself to the statue, vowing to remain there until such a time that he was removed or arrested.

I’m going to hand over the reins to TimesLive here:

The EFF are hoodlums‚” Willemse said.

Provincial coordinator for the right-wing party Front Nasionaal‚ Daniel Lotter‚ said the vandalism of the Cecil John Rhodes statue at UCT and the one of Paul Kruger in Pretoria was an attack against a nation‚ brought on by earlier comments by President Jacob Zuma.

“This destruction of monuments was a result of a statement by the president in January‚ when he claimed all South Africa’s problems started with the arrival of Van Riebeeck‚” he said.

Are you a fan of a happy ending (no, not that kind)? The EFF march never materialised and Willemse was released by his supporters around lunch. And now we wait…

[source:timeslive]