Lungani Zungu
Jacob Zuma’s plea to his loyal backers to vote for the ANC in the November municipal elections has fallen upon deaf ears.
With threats of a boycott against the ANC mounting, the former president took to social media this week to urge his supporters to vote for the ruling party.
Zuma made a passionate plea in a video posted on the Twitter page of the JG Zuma Foundation asking South Africans to go out and vote on 1 November.
“I have heard some people say they will not vote. It is important that we vote, especially for the ANC,” he said in Zulu.
But his pleas failed to move even his staunchest supporters, including the popular follower known as Sphithiphithi on Twitter and whose real name is Zamaswazi Majozi, who was previously arrested for instigating the July unrest.
“President Zuma knows we respect him, and we’ll forever support him; he’s the only leader we have in this country.
“But voting for this evil cult is not it. The past 4 years, the ANC has shown how much it hates us, even using the law enforcement to unlawfully charge and arrest citizens,” she said.
Another supporter, Thuli Ngcobo, agreed with her saying: “I respect you, Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma. The ANC brought us freedom, but they took away your freedom in 2021. I am not voting for the ANC.”
Still angry at Zuma’s arrest in July, many ANC supporters have threatened to boycott the 1 November local government elections.
Mdumiseni Ntuli, ANC secretary in KZN, previously said Zuma’s arrest would cripple the party’s campaign, especially in KZN, where Zuma still has a major support base.
This has caused a headache for the ANC, especially in KZN, a province with many hotly-contested municipalities between the ruling party, DA and the IFP.
With less than 26 days to go before the elections, the ANC is in a race against time to win the hearts of Zuma’s supporters threatening to snub the party at the polls.
Image source: Twitter
