South Africa, Saturday, January 11, 2018, activists from the Economic Freedom Fighters political party terrified shoppers with protests in the up-market suburbs of Sandton, Menlyn Park and East Rand in the Pretoria and Johannesburg areas.

They were protesting against the H&M stores following the so-called 'racist' hoodie showing a young black model wearing a hoodie that had the words, "Coolest monkey in the jungle," printed on it. They trashed the stores which are now closed.

H&M's ad which was labeled racist emerged on Twitter second week of January

Across the world, there was a lot of debate as to whether the hoodie was actually racist as many people pointed out that children of all races are often called 'little monkeys.' Other Twitterati suggested that those who automatically associate the word 'monkey' with black are probably the racist ones. On the other side of the fence, there was a lot of outrage expressed.

Surprisingly, the mother of the black child who modeled the hoodie told people to "get over it."

EFF trash H&M, shots reported fired

Well, it seems the EFF has made a point of proving where they stand on the issue.

According to a report by News24, "REZA Crime Network have reported shots fired at the East Rand H&M."

Other reports on Twitter confirmed the violent raid on the H&M outlets.

Twitter responds to trashed H&M stores in South Africa

South Africans were quick to reignite the race debate over the controversial advert by H&M, and the raid on the H&M stores by the Economic Freedom Fighters.

User @dylanmalebye posted, "I'm not condoning the violence. But what do mean H&M SA has nothing to do with this? H&M is a global brand. An act of racism is not bound by borders. It affects the whole world. With that logic its as if only black people in UK were affected. Come on.."

Meanwhile, another user wrote,"What happens if H&M pulls out of South Africa.

Will the EFF compensate employees for loss of income?"

Others totally supported the move by the EFF. "Every single racist institution is will be visited by the red brigade to ensure there are consequences to any denigration of the black race! #EFFprotest against H&M is not the last one," threatened @MbuyiseniNdlozi‏, whose Twitter profile says he is a spokesman for EFF.

The EFF and racism in South Africa

The EFF has always stood for redistribution of wealth in South Africa, and most people understand the need to address inequality. Their leader is controversial ex-rapper, Julius (Juju) Malema, who broke away from the African National Congress some years ago after they ousted him.

He first really made headlines after releasing his song that said,"Kill the Boers," a term in South Africa for white people, particularly of Dutch or Afrikaans ancestry. His party has had other shocking things to say about South African whites, despite Nelson Mandela's conciliatory Truth Commission.

In 2016, leading News Outlet The Citizen reported that Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, National Chairperson of the EFF was looking into the behavior of one of its members.

It was alleged that EFF member Thabo Mabotja posted up on Facebook, “All white people must be hacked and killed.” ENCA News reported that Julius Malema distanced himself from that member.

Julius Malema is a bit of an enigma, calling on Afrikaaners to join the party at times, and at others saying horrid things about white South Africans.

He can be engaging and charming and unleash a raging oratory the next time you hear him. Speaking to Radio Jacaranda a few years back, he insisted he does not really want to push the "Whites into the sea," but that people must understand the political maturity of his followers.

The EFF organization "draws inspiration from the broad Marxist–Leninist tradition and Fanonian schools of thought in their analyses of the state, imperialism, culture and class contradictions in every society." according to one of its declarations.