George Galloway and Yvonne Ridley arrive in Cape Town for Palestine solidarity tour - IOL

British politician George Galloway at Cape Town International Airport on his arrival in the city for the last leg of his Power Tour.

British politician George Galloway has touched down in Cape Town to continue his Power Tour with journalist Yvonne Ridley. 

Galloway is a former British MP and leader of the Workers Party of Britain. He served in the House of Commons for more than two decades across five constituencies. Galloway hosts the podcast Mother of All Talk Shows. An avowed anti-imperialist, Galloway has been a long-standing ally of South Africa’s liberation struggle, joining the ANC while it was still banned.

He worked closely with the London cell of the ANC under the guidance of Aziz Pahad and Ismail Coovadia. He has travelled extensively throughout South Africa and founded the Stop the War Coalition and campaigned against sanctions on Iraq. 

Ridley is a British journalist, author and politician. She made global headlines in 2001 when she was captured by the Taliban and held for 11 days. She has since become one of the most recognised voices on Palestine, Islamophobia and Western media coverage of the Muslim world.

The tour aims to raise awareness of the plight of the people of Palestine and broader human rights issues. It comes at a moment when South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice has placed the country, and other allies, at the centre of the global debate.

Ridley will be speaking at the University of Cape Town at the Leslie Social on Thursday, at 1pm. 

On Friday, Galloway and Ridley will be part of the Jumuah Programme at the Al Quds Masjid at 12pm, while a fundraiser will take place at the Islamia Hall at 7.30pm that day. 

On Saturday, a mass march for Palestine hosted along with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign will begin at the Mouille Point Lighthouse in Sea Point at 2.30pm. 

Cape Town is the last leg of the tour for Galloway and Ridley, who have already been to Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban in recent weeks.