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The South African Communist Party condemns in the strongest terms possible the abuse of state events to carry out assassination plots and pursue factional agendas. On Monday 10 April a rogue element produced a gun aimed at Solly Mapaila, SACP Second Deputy General Secretary. Mapaila was ascending the stage to deliver the Party’s message at the commemoration of the 24th anniversary of the assassination of Chris Hani, former SACP General Secretary who was murdered on 10 April 1993.

The gunman who was oblivious that there a video recording capturing his action was amongst the mob of a few hooligans who were premeditatedly co-ordinated to boo Mapaila and silence the vice of the Communist Party. The gunman aborted his mission after what seemed to be an alert to him that he was exposed. In addition Mapaila had an umbrella because of a heavy rainstorm. This caused a distraction when he ascended the stage where he shortly announced that he could no longer deliver the SACP message because of the storm and quickly exited the podium.

The SACP will today lay charges with the Police and will discuss the matter and other information it has gathered with Alliance partners starting with the African National Congress (ANC). Those who planned to disrupt the commemoration by silencing the voice of the Communist Party and pursuing intent to spill blood on Hani’s gravesite were clearly inspired by his murderers. The thugs and the elite of political lumpen who co-ordinated them wanted to commit 10 April the second time and force us into a state of déjà vu using the same modus operandi copied from Hani’s cold-blooded murderers and pasted on his gravesite.

This is a worst form of political and ideological degeneration and will, if allowed to prevail, completely destroy the ANC-headed political movement. In particular this comes against the background of the ongoing systemic murders of SACP members in Inchanga, KwaZulu-Natal Province. The SACP will intensify its efforts to tackle the rot politically by democratic means. This includes confronting corporate capture within the ranks of our movement and the state, corruption, rent-seeking, patronage and abuse of state resources and processes. The SACP will not allow anyone, regardless of the methods they resort to, to succeed to silence the voice of the Party from any angle whatsoever. The SACP firmly remains the Party of Chris Hani and is inspired among others by his fearless revolutionary spirit!

Issued by South African Communist Party