ANC hegemony and dominance are constantly contested. At the beginning of its third decade in power, the range of opposition, and the hold that resistance cumulatively exercises over the ANC, make the monolith look troubled. A series of left, right and combined left-right opposition party ‘sieges’ in Parliament, a range of trade unions refusing to kowtow when the ANC commands, and resistance from civil society in organised and community formations signal how the intensity and diversity of opposition to the ANC have changed. This is happening gradually and in multiple ways and sites, the opposition coming from actors who diverge in political orientation, class background and organisational platform.

For a long time the ANC had prided itself on having direct bonds with the people of South Africa, and on being attentive to their voices. This connection continues but is strained by a multitude of community protests – the political-electoral bond has often remained, but under the pressure of public expression of dissatisfaction and civil disobedience, both peaceful and violent. The exchanges that emanate from community protests are often acrimonious. For example, the police are dispatched to restore order, and then retaliate. Elected representatives and state bureaucrats will be generally unavailable to give hearings to the protesters, who turn to arson and looting to escalate their voices. Councillors’ houses, foreigners’ shops and government buildings (municipal sites such as libraries, local police stations and home affairs offices) are common targets.

The context of protest is that incomes and standards of living in general have risen substantially in the democratic era. The black middle classes have grown, and occupy far bigger chunks of the upper living standards measure groupings. Many in the lower socioeconomic classes benefit from social grants, a social wage and temporary low-level public employment. At the same time, inequality has grown further and unemployment figures by mid-2015 were the highest in eleven years. Young people are the most likely victims of unemployment. Urbanisation rises and vast urban settlements are home to citizens who know no life but one of desperation and squalor. Community and service delivery protests are soft options next to protests of looting and destruction. Afro-foreigners who share spaces of work and residence with the poorest of South Africa are easy targets.