The wave of protests demanding President Jacob Zuma to step down, led by opposition parties and civil society, is going to be intensified, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane said on Tuesday.

“If the ANC [African National Congress] does not take note of the message from South Africans standing together for their country, it will realise that it has lost the leadership of society. These marches are crucial,” Maimane said speaking to journalists after he led a protest to the Limpopo Provincial Treasury in Polokwane.

“We are going to intensify our actions. We’re not backing down. We’re going to intensify our action right across the country. Ultimately, South Africans must know that this is our country. It is not Jacob Zuma’s country. He was elected to serve the country, now he is serving himself. So we will continue.”

Maimane led hundreds of anti-Zuma protesters, mainly DA members, who marched across the Polokwane CBD demanding that Zuma be ousted from power.

Before 11am, the hundreds of protesters led by Maimane arrived at the Limpopo Provincial Treasury which was guarded by numerous police officers.

A few Freedom Front Plus and a few Economic Freedom Fighters members joined the protest.

A statement released by Maimane’s spokesperson Mabine Seabe said the protest was being held in Polokwane because the province was evident to massive corruption bedevilling South Africa.

“Jacob Zuma and the ANC have normalised the abuse of the people’s money and institutions for self-benefit, while neglecting their duty to create jobs and build a better South Africa,” said Seabe.

“There is no better case study than the province of Limpopo – corrupted to the point of near bankruptcy, and economically stagnant.”