On Friday, thousands of marchers will come out to protest in major South African cities against President Jacob Zuma, demanding he quit after a cabinet reshuffle triggered the latest crisis of his presidency. The protest is due to last Thursday’s reshuffling of the cabinet by President Zuma where he sacked the respected finance minister, Pravin Gordhan.

This has outraged allies and opponents alike, undermined Zuma’s authority and caused rifts in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which has governed South Africa since the end of white-minority rule in 1994. Rating agency S&P Global Ratings cited Gordhan’s dismissal as one reason for its downgrade of South Africa to “junk” in an unscheduled review on Monday.

The rand has tumbled more than 11 percent since March 27 when Zuma ordered Gordhan to return home from overseas talks with investors, days before firing him from the cabinet.

Zuma welcomed a plan by the civil society group Save South Africa (SaveSA) to protest outside the Union Buildings, the seat of government where Zuma’s offices are located in the capital Pretoria, saying it was their legal right to do so.

SaveSA is made up of civil society groups, business leaders and prominent individuals.

Read more at Reuters