Demonstrators protest against South African President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria, Friday PICTURE: Themba Hadebe/AP
Members of the ANC Youth League flee from tear gas and rubber bullets fired by police at the end of a march by the main opposition Democratic Alliance party in Johannesburg PICTURE: Yeshiel Panchia/AP
THOUSANDS of South Africans have gathered in major cities to demonstrate against president Jacob Zuma.
The protests are taking place after Mr Zuma's dismissal of the country's finance minister fuelled concerns over government corruption and a struggling economy.
Protesters began marches in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and other big metropolitan areas to push for the resignation of scandal-hit Mr Zuma, who for now retains the support of a ruling party facing an internal revolt against the president.
"Fire Zuma," read some placards.
A march organised by the Democratic Alliance, South Africa's biggest opposition party, was expected to pass near the headquarters of the ruling African National Congress in Johannesburg.
ANC members in military uniforms who oppose the protest were posted outside.
The government appealed for calm and said it respects the right of South Africans to protest peacefully, a legacy of the struggle against white minority rule that ended in 1994 with the country's first all-race vote and the election of Nelson Mandela as president.
Pravin Gordhan, who was fired as finance minister in a late-night cabinet reshuffle a week ago, was widely respected for his anti-corruption stance.
The Standard & Poor's agency lowered South Africa's foreign currency credit rating after the dismissal, citing political instability and threats to economic growth.
Mr Gordhan was seen as a counter to the alleged influence of the Gupta family, Indian immigrant businessmen who have been accused of trying to influence some of Mr Zuma's cabinet picks.
The Guptas deny any wrongdoing, and Mr Zuma has said there was nothing improper in the way he chose ministers.
Mr Zuma and the ruling party have been weakened by other scandals around the president.
Mr Zuma was forced to reimburse some state money after the Constitutional Court ruled against him last year in a dispute over millions of dollars spent on his private home.
Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, (85), made a rare public appearance to support the protests.
A South African news outlet posted photos of Mr Tutu and his wife, Leah, standing with residents at a bus shelter outside the retirement home where they are staying in Hermanus, near Cape Town.
Mr Tutu was shown smiling and raising a walking stick, apparently to acknowledge passing protesters.
The retired Anglican archbishop, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his peaceful campaign against apartheid, has criticised the ruling African National Congress for alleged mismanagement over the years.
In Johannesburg, police fired rubber bullets to disperse about 100 ruling party members who were making their way towards protesters, the African News Agency reported.
A few other confrontations were reported as police sought to keep groups of the president's supporters away from anti-Zuma rallies.
The protests came as the Fitch agency downgraded South Africa's credit rating to junk status, citing political turmoil and governance concerns.
The downgrade on Friday followed a similar move earlier this week by the Standard & Poor's ratings agency.
Fitch said the cabinet reshuffle, in which Mr Gordhan was fired, will further discourage companies from investing in South Africa.
It also said the unsettled political situation is likely to weaken "standards of governance and public finances".
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