A handful of EFF members shut down the Vodacom store at The Bridge in Port Elizabeth on Sunday as part of a national call by EFF leaders fuming over a photograph used by a speaker at the Vodacom Journalist of the Year event last week.
EFF regional chair Ngawethu Madaka said the shutdown was in response to the national call following what he claimed was bias toward EFF president Julius Malema and deputy Floyd Shivambu.
Madaka said the national call to shut Vodacom stores across the country had seen some outlets being vandalised.
The call comes in the wake of last week’s national Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards, where Corruption Watch chair Mavuso Msimang was invited to give the keynote address.
During his presentation, an image of Malema and Shivambu was projected on a big screen with the text “Abusers of Democracy” splayed across it.
Madaka said it seemed Vodacom had become a political party. “We came here to speak to the manager to hear if [the manager] had any part in the decision [to label Malema and Shivambu] as abusers of democracy,” Madaka said.
After entering the store just after midday on Sunday, the group of about eight demanded to speak to the manager.
The group was informed the manager was not on duty, but he agreed to meet them on Monday.
“[The manager] must tell us if they had anything to do with this thing or if they distance themselves from it,” he said.
The store was closed within 30 minutes after a large contingent of police officers arrived.
Madaka said the party would continue demanding answers.
Meanwhile, Vodacom sent out a statement confirming that Msimang had been invited to the awards ceremony.
“We believe in freedom of expression and would not censor Mr Msimang's views or those of other opinion makers,” Vodacom said.