South Africa’s opposition figure Julius Malema has said President Cyril Ramaphosa will be held personally responsible for coronavirus-related deaths following his decision to reopen the economy.
Mr Malema on Tuesday accused the president of being an "ally of white monopoly capital" in a speech during virtual celebrations of South Africa's Youth Day.
The Economic Freedom Fighters party leader urged South Africans to stay safe and protect their loved ones from the virus.
He also supported the reinstatement of a countrywide ban on the sale of alcohol. The ban was lifted on 1 June in a country where alcohol-fuelled violence is a huge problem.
Mr Malema has in the past objected to reopening of schools and places of worship. He has previously urged his supporters not to go to places of worship, terming it a trap to get them infected by the virus.
South Africa reopened schools for final year students on 8 June, but several schools have since been closed for sanitisation after reporting coronavirus cases.
- Expanding Africa’s vaccine production capacity key – Noguchi Director
- Dengue fever epidemic declared in Burkina Faso
- Frontiers earned over $87m while government got under $7m from COVID testing at KIA – Report
- I donated PPE worth over $1 million during COVID-19 pandemic – Ken Agyapong
- Ablakwa releases ‘inaccessible details’ of contract awarded to Frontiers for COVID test at the airport
- Read all related articles