#BlackMonday movement calls on South Africans to wear black on 3 April to protest cabinet reshuffle

The #BlackMonday movement, created by a group of South Africans, is calling on all citizens to wear black on 3 April as a form of protest against President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle.

Following the removal of Pravin Gordhan as Minister of Finance as well as the reshuffling of numerous other ministers, the public has been vocal about their disapproval.

The #BlackMonday movement said on its site, “We, as fellow participants in civil society, civil service, non-governmental organisations, businesses and the youth of South Africa, do not condone this.

“There is a duty on all of us to uphold and protect these values by holding our government accountable to their Constitutional mandate.”

Read Twitter reacts to President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle

The movement hopes that by citizens wearing all black and sharing the hashtag, it would further the cause of the movement and demonstrate the extent of South Africans’ unhappiness with the recent cabinet changes.

Catherine Constantinides, a climate activist and humanitarian who has voiced her support for #BlackFriday said, “In our current environment, not everyone can take to the streets but you can wear black and show solidarity. We feel as if there is no hope and there are lots of obstacles we face and so we need to show solidarity.”

#BlackMonday has been trending on Twitter but not all reactions have been positive. Many people have voiced their disapproval of the movement by highlighting other examples of crises in our country when there was no protest in solidarity such as the #FeesMustFall protests or the deaths of 34 Marikana mineworkers.

Edited by Stacey Woensdregt

Send us pictures of you and your wearing black for #BlackMonday on WhatsApp 079 439 5345.