President Cyril Ramaphosa affirmed on Monday that government needs to be resolute in its defence of the right to peaceful protest.

Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to the nation that in fulfilment of its constitutional responsibility to protect the rights of all people, government would always have measures in place to ensure that everyone who wanted to go to work, travel for leisure and conduct business could do so in a safe and secure environment.

He said these measures included the deployment of the country’s security personnel across the country to ensure that the law was observed.

The Economic Freedom Fighters on Monday embarked on a national shutdown, calling for Ramaphosa’s resignation and for an end to loadshedding.

Government has deployed 3 474 members of the South African National Defence Force across the country in response.

Ramaphosa said as citizens gathered to celebrate Human Rights Day on Tuesday they should recall that the rights being enjoyed today were the result of great sacrifices.

“Many people were imprisoned, many were driven into exile and many lost their lives so that our basic human rights are protected and upheld. Particularly as we remember the events of 21 March 1960, when 69 peaceful protestors in Sharpeville were killed by the apartheid police, we need to be resolute in our defence of the right to peaceful protest,” he said.

Ramaphosa explained that the country’s Constitution guaranteed every person “the right, peacefully and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket and to present petitions.”

“One person’s right to protest should in no way infringe on any other person’s right to life and dignity. It should not impede their freedom of movement and association, or their right to engage in their trade or profession without hindrance,” he noted.

Ramaphosa highlighted that the Constitution was clear that the State must “respect, protect, promote and fulfil” all the freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights.

Therefore, he added it was the State's responsibility to prevent any attempt to violate any other rights in the Constitution.

He highlighted that it was well within the right of any person or organisation to call on fellow South Africans to freely join in acts of protest. But no-one should be forced, threatened or intimidated into joining that protest.

He concluded that government would not allow anyone or any group to take people’s right to freedoms away from them.