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Boos, Jeers Humiliate South Africa’s Zuma at Mandela Memorial
By David Dolan
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African President Jacob Zuma was booed and jeered at a memorial to anti-apartheid legend Nelson Mandela on Tuesday, a major public humiliation in front of other world leaders six months before national elections.
The hostile reaction from the thousands-strong unruly crowd erupted as Zuma prepared to address the high-profile ceremony in Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium bringing together leaders from around 90 countries.
Zuma, who has ruled Africa’s biggest economy since 2009, had been hoping to get a boost from the wave of national emotion triggered by Mandela’s death on Thursday, aged 95.
His African National Congress (ANC) government has been facing violent labour unrest and protests over persisting poverty, crime and unemployment. But the ANC is still expected to comfortably win the elections to be held in April or May.
Zuma was booed when he first entered the crowded stadium, and again when he prepared to speak. In contrast, U.S. President Barack Obama received a roaring ovation, and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon were also cheered.
Some in the crowd accompanied the boos for Zuma with thumbs-down gestures and rotating hand movements, the sign for a substitution in a soccer match.
“Mandela had a vision, Mandela lived that vision. But what Zuma speaks, he doesn’t live,” said Funeka Gingcara-Sithole, 31, reflecting the mood of the Zuma critics in the stadium.
“He should do the honourable thing and resign,” she said.
ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu called the booing a surprise, but played down the incident as a “little blot”.
“It came as a bolt to all of us,” he told eNCA television. “We were quite surprised.”
Zuma and senior ANC officials remained stony faced during the hostile reaction and organisers at one point used a choir to try to drown it out.
The mourning for Mandela has distracted attention from corruption scandals affecting Zuma and his administration.
But memories of the former president’s five-year tenure up to 1999 have reminded many just how distant Zuma’s South Africa still is from the “Rainbow Nation” ideal of shared prosperity and social peace that Mandela proclaimed after his 1994 election.
South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies on the planet.
(Reporting by David Dolan, Peroshni Govender and Ed Cropley; Editing by Pascal Fletcher)
Posted by Editor
on December 10, 2013. Filed under AROUND AFRICA.
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Ken
December 11, 2013 at 12:00 am
Leaders should learn from this. The people that they lead are like most domestic objects. When you smash them on the wall, they break. And when the madness of an entire nation disturbs a solitary mind, it is not enough to say that the man is mad.
Kapyanga
December 11, 2013 at 1:08 am
If we boooooed Sata, we would be shot at by his supporters. If we sang his praise, we would be poisoned by his critics. If we kept quiet, his day would still come. No one else would be hurt.
Trixy
December 11, 2013 at 10:28 am
Cant see my posting.
bigbuttman
December 11, 2013 at 10:43 am
Mandela supported Gay rights as part of the New Rainbow Nation. God bless Mandela.
Trixy
December 11, 2013 at 11:04 am
I watched this on TV yesterday. It must have been very embarrassing for the ANC leadership and I bet this caught them off guard!! It must have been embarrassing for them as well because there were a lot of presidents and leaders from all over the world at that occasion. Africans leaders!!!
sorry
December 11, 2013 at 11:43 am
This is what would happenif our ***** were to address a gthering such as this one. A day of reckoningwill come. I have not heard that Mugabe perfromed at the memorial good! Our ***** would have perfromed to the embarasment of the country.
Trixy
December 11, 2013 at 12:20 pm
@ Sorry….our president really embarrasses you tefyo??? lol!!!!!!!!
fyonse
December 11, 2013 at 3:20 pm
Kikikiki Trixy u hv cracked me man.
Mabvuto
December 12, 2013 at 10:44 am
While world powerful leaders gathered in south africa, ours chose to stay home entertaining pupils from chinsali. what an error of judgement.
Ngombala Muhapi wa Mafatsi
December 13, 2013 at 3:13 pm
Sata should also be ready because next time he shows his ugly face in public, Zambians will boo him like they did Chiluba until the stinking Katangese scumbag breathed his last.
Amai tilikuseli
December 13, 2013 at 4:46 pm
Zuma is not a good president any more and people want him out.