South Africans demonstrate and call for president to resign

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African police on Monday monitored protests by the country’s leftist Economic Freedom Fighters party, which is demanding the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa. The party urged all South Africans to participate in a national shutdown but there was limited response in most of the country’s major cities. EFF leader Julius Malema addressed a crowd of nearly 1,000 people in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, where he claimed the government tried to sabotage the planned national shutdown by preventing buses from transporting people to various marches. Police said that at least 87 people were arrested for public violence and related offences by Monday. Police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe said that at least 24,300 tires have been confiscated by law enforcement agencies.