How South African anti-rape protesters disrupted Zuma's speech

Simamkele Dlakavu was on her way to hear the results of South Africa’s local elections when she saw on Twitter that the president, Jacob Zuma, was to address the ceremony.

“I don’t know how to feel about this,” she thought. Like many South African women, Dlakavu believes Zuma escaped justice when he was acquitted of raping a family friend, aided by a legal system that regularly fails women subjected to sexual violence.

She remembered a recent demonstration outside the South Gauteng high court, marking 10 years since Zuma’s acquittal; a demonstration that garnered little attention.

That night the young woman would hold another protest that couldn’t be ignored.

Dlakavu and her friend Tinyiko Shikwambane decided to disrupt Zuma’s speech with a demonstration in support of Khwezi, the pseudonym given to the woman who accused Zuma of rape.

“Khwezi is all of us. She is a representative of all of us. She [represents] a failure of the justice system,” said Dlakavu, sitting with Shikwambane on a balcony in Braamfontein after their eventful weekend.

Chirwa, a drama student, who came up with the slogans:

• Remember Khwezi - the pseudonym given to the woman who reported being raped by Zuma
• Khanga – a sarong or wrap worn by women. Zuma had told the court that the fact the womam was wearing a khanga suggested she wanted to have sex with him
• I am 1 in 3 - a reference to the number of South African women subject to sexual violence
• 10 years later - the time since Zuma’s aquittal on rape charges

Expecting to be manhandled by security officers, they left their bags with a male friend also attending the gathering, but did not tell him what they were up to.

Facing the crowd, Dlakavu, Chirwa, Shikwambane and Mavuso held their signs in front of the president throughout his speech, which lasted more than seven minutes.

“We didn’t think [what might happen next],” said Dlakavu. “We are women and no one’s going to ask us to leave nicely,” added Shikwambane. “I thought we were going to be removed during the speech but it had to happen.”