WATCH | Heavy private security presence as ANCYL threatens citizens arrest on 'corrupt' Pappas

• The ANC Youth League marched to the offices of uMngeni Local Municipality to demand the resignation of Mayor Chris Pappas.
• Pappas was in Durban, conducting media interviews, but this didn't stop the march.
• Things almost came to a head between the youth league supporters and the police, with uMngeni Speaker Janis Holmes having to be whisked away to safety.

Hundreds of ANC Youth League (ANCYL) supporters converged in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, in a march against uMngeni Municipality Local Mayor Christopher Pappas.

The march wasn't sanctioned as the municipality hadn't received any notice, Pappas said in a WhatsApp note to residents on Thursday morning.

Heavy private security presence was so notable during the march that it prompted ANCYL national spokesperson Wesley Kgang to rebuke the "intimidation tactics" by the private contractors and Pappas.

ANCYL members met at a park in Howick to collect ANCYL shirts that were being handed out from a bakkie.

A convoy of private security contractor vehicles lined up on the pavement near Howick Falls on Main Street.

FACT CHECK | What we know about nepotism claims against uMngeni Mayor Chris Pappas

The march has its genesis in allegations that Pappas' then fiancé Jean-Pierre Prinsloo benefitted from a government contract.

A part of the working relationship between Prinsloo and the municipality predates Pappas' tenure.

However, the ANC maintains that the municipality awarded the then-uMngeni Tourism board chairperson Prinsloo a R50 000 grant while Pappas was mayor in December 2022 should give everyone following the saga considerable pause.

This as other tourism entities are said not to have received similar amounts.

The crowd braved the 33°C heat to walk up to the uMngeni Local Municipality offices in spirited song and dance.

The marchers carried placards that read "arrest Pappas now," "ANCYL says 'no to corruption,'" and other slogans.

Addressing the crowd through a loudhailer, ANCYL deputy president Phumzile Mgcina said:

She added: "We're tired of people saying the ANC is corrupt. Here is the DA being corrupt. Where there is corruption, the youth league will be there to protest it."

She said the ANCYL was being criticised for questioning a white leader, but the issue wasn't about race.

ANCYL provincial convener Mqondisi Duma said the ANCYL would not tolerate Pappas using taxpayers' money to give his former lover a "nice time."

"We've defeated Pappas. He tried all means to block us," Duma said, in reference to Pappas' court interdict against the march, which was initially planned for Monday.

The ANC Youth League in KwaZulu-Natal marched against uMngeni Mayor Chris Pappas, accusing him of corruption and racism.

News24 Soyiso Maliti

Duma, Kgang, and Mgcina said they would open a case with the Hawks against Pappas, whom they accused of corruption and racism.

Tensions rose when some in the crowd threatened to force their way through a police line that manned the entrance of the municipal offices.

Shortly before the ANCYL handed copies of its memorandum to uMngeni DA Speaker Janis Holmes, the crowd became agitated by her presence, demanding that she go back inside.

When some started pushing towards her, police hurriedly ushered her inside the premises.

Holmes and a cooperative governance and traditional affairs senior official accepted the memorandum.

She told News24 the march wasn't convened properly and had disrupted service delivery.

Earlier, Pappas told residents via WhatsApp: "The uMngeni municipality and private security companies have a significant deployment on the ground and more manpower waiting if needed.

"The SA Police Service [in] Howick is also present with public order policing on standby if needed.

"Information indicates that the organisers have had to bus in people from other areas of the province and have been trying to mobilise people since [01:00]. This is largely due to the poor response locally."

Although he said no warning had been issued for businesses to close, some closed briefly as marchers made their way through the streets but opened up as soon as they passed.