Today was the state memorial service for Nelson Mandela (who died at the age of 95 on Thursday last week) at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. Many foreign dignitaries and celebrities made their way to the stadium to pay their respects to someone who was one of the biggest cultural and political figures of the 20th century. Nearly 100 heads of state and tens of thousands of people packed into the stadium for the four-hour service.
Some of them include South African President Jacob Zuma, Winnie Mandela, Grace Marcel, Former South African Presidents Thabo Mbeki & FW De Klerk, US President Obama, Former US Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, supermodel Naomi Campbell, UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon, Chinese Vice president Li Yuanchao, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Raul Castro, Bono and Charlize Theron.
During the memorial service crowds cheered Motlanthe, Mbeki, Obama and FW De Klerk but boo-ed Jacob Zuma. E News Channel Africa captured footage of it and has posted a reported on YouTube, check out the video below:
It seems that Jacob Zuma isn’t a very popular man in Gauteng at the moment. Maybe it’s because the highly controversial E-Toll System went live a week ago or maybe it’s because of Nkandla-gate. It’s great to see South Africans who are not afraid to voice their opinion about their president.
Maybe the tables have turned in South African politics. It will be interesting to see what happens in next year’s general elections. Maybe the ANC will realize that the people who are keeping them in power are opening up their eyes and are finally seeing the light. Maybe the people have had enough of the alleged corruption that has been popping up in media reports in South Africa all so often, who knows?
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3 Comments
You forgot to mention that he fired the director of public prosecutions for laying criminal charges against him and gave his buddy, Shabir Shaik, a get-out-of-jail-free-card who was found guilty beyond doubt and sentenced for the same sins, but to put it frankly, he embarrased this nation enough with his statements without conscience that him and his cronies cannot point fingets to anyone else. – They probably will anyway, because they are priven hypocrites
Thanks for sharing your views Thys
People stood up against what was unfair and not equal. Our leaders of today mustn’t think that people won’t do it again. Valid point there human Thys