Coup in Tshwane!

No quite. But seeing SANDF members violently protesting working conditions and pay inside the Union Buildings grounds looks a lot like that. You can just imagine how the British media is going to interpret this.

SAPS were firing teargas and rubber bullets all over the show. At our army okes! Hectic. (By the way it's just down the road from my office, so maybe this is a little more exciting for me.).

Cabinet condemns soldiers rampage at the Union Buildings
SAPA	Published: 2009/08/27 11:30:51 AM

Picture: Financial Mail.

Cabinet on Thursday condemned the rampage by soldiers at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, saying attempting to “invade the seat of government is totally unacceptable”.

“Cabinet condemned in the strongest possible terms the illegal and violent protest at the Union Buildings by members of the South African National Defence Union (Sandu),” ministers said in a statement at the fortnightly post-cabinet briefing.

“Defying a court order, engaging in unnecessary violent behaviour, causing damage to public property and attempting to invade the seat of government is totally unacceptable, especially from people who have the responsibility of being the true defenders of the Constitution.” It warned that the protesters “must expect no sympathy from the state”.

Several soldiers and a policeman were injured and police and military vehicles damaged on Wednesday when a protest by 3000 soldiers demanding higher wages turned violent.

Police used rubber bullets and teargas to disperse the crowd when they refused to leave after handing over a memorandum with their demands and taunted officers. They threw a petrol bomb into one car and vandalised others.

Two soldiers were arrested.

Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu angrily described the incident as “anarchy” and said it had put national security at risk.