There’s never a dull moment in South Africa – even (especially) during serious times. Before President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the reopening of beaches on Monday, several groups staged protests in a bid to lift the ban.
There was a beach protest on January 30 and a second on January 31.
Protesters on Muizenberg Beach were criticised for lack of mask-wearing and social distancing, among other things. The members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) involved in breaking up the protest have also come under fire for the way the situation was handled. No fines were issued nor were any arrests made.
Lesego Tlhabi took the opportunity to critique the matter in her own brilliant, unique and satirical way, under her persona Coconut Kelz.
Coconut Kelz is famous for criticising racism and privilege in public interest situations in a way that is both hilarious and undeniably true.
Take a look at the clips that sparked the debate:
… look. We don’t want the masses on here… (the masses)
pic.twitter.com/CXZ83kpnhO— Denzil Taylor (@DenzilTaylor) January 30, 2021
Hundreds of Protesters occupied Muizenberg beach in Cape Town @TimesLIVE @CapeTown @COVID_19_ZA @HealthZA @MuizenbergProp pic.twitter.com/YshTLts2Ho
— Esa Alexander (@ezaap) January 30, 2021
The EFF released a statement saying: “EFF WC condemns the protests to open the beaches when COVID-19 cases are still on the rise in the province. We also condemn law enforcement officers who failed to enforce COVID-19 regulations. If the majority of these protesters were black they would have been arrested and shot at.”
Kelz made her own tongue-in-cheek video in response. Check out the video below:
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For more from Coconut Kelz, visit her Instagram here.
Picture: Screenshot from Instagram