The defacement of statues around the country are sheer acts of hooliganism and criminality and should be frowned upon by all sensible and law-abiding South Africans, the ANC chief whip said on Thursday.

The statement from the whip, Stone Sizani, comes after Louis Bothas statue in front of Parliament was the latest to be defaced.

An Economic Freedom Front member confirmed to News24 that two of their members had been arrested for this particular incident.

The party’s Godrich Gardee said he agreed with what was done to the Botha statue because you cannot every day be subjected to the mind of the warmonger.

Botha’s statue had red and blue paint thrown over it in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Sizani’s office said the “malicious damage of statues at certain locations in the cover of darkness signifies nothing but cowardice by those seeking to opportunistically piggyback on the publicity generated by the successful campaign led by the progressive students of the University of Cape Town regarding the statue of Cecil Rhodes”.

“There’s nothing courageous or heroic by peacetime ‘fighters’ or ‘revolutionaries’ who go around kicking doors that are already open and subverting due processes merely for media attention.

“While the UCT campaign was initially blemished by a lawless act of strewing poo on the statue, it was generally peaceful and involved rational discourse and dialogue – which resulted in the university Council taking a decision to remove the statue [on Thursday].” News24