YACOOB ABBA OMAR: Protests should be seen as complementary to the democratic process
From community-level actions to insurrection, Mapungubwe Institute researchers describe the architecture of protest
The quantity and quality of protests mirror the quality of our democracy. Or as Heidi Brooks, Rekgotsofetse Chikane and Shauna Mottiar, editors of the Mapungubwe Institute’s (Mistra’s) recently released Protest in SA, point out more eloquently, “protest is a mirror of our democratic dispensation, reflecting unmet expectations, dashed hopes and the experience of exclusion, as well as aspiration, and the claiming of a voice and basic rights”.
Responses ahead of the EFF’s protests spoke to two key needs among South Africans: to deepen democracy, of which such protests are seen to be a part; and to protect lives and property from violent outbursts. ..
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