Many South Africans Say #ZumaMustFall After Finance Minister Sacked
Barely hours after Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene was sacked by President Jacob Zuma Wednesday night, the rand plummeted to an all-time low and social media started going crazy asking for Zuma’s head. Today #ZumaMustFall is still trending like crazy. The tweets range from the outraged (in by far the majority) to those calling for immediate […]
Barely hours after Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene was sacked by President Jacob Zuma Wednesday night, the rand plummeted to an all-time low and social media started going crazy asking for Zuma’s head. Today #ZumaMustFall is still trending like crazy.
The tweets range from the outraged (in by far the majority) to those calling for immediate action (“When are we marching”) to the derogatory and insulting to – yes – the funny ones, which show that South Africans can still put a humorous edge on potentially disastrous news.
One recent tweet says, “BREAKING NEWS, Zuma seen leaving the National Treasury” and includes a video of a man leaving a building that is exploding. Another has a picture of Zuma standing with former president Thabo Mbeki, who Zuma replaced, with Mbeki jumping as high as he can.
Zuma gave no explanation when he axed Nene – and then, to confuse matters, complimented him on a job well done in a tough time – after which he appointed a total unknown, David van Rooyen, as Nene’s replacement.
Many have tweeted the question about who would take over from Zuma. Others said that if the “FeesMustFall can work, so can “ZumaMustFall. Others have called for a march on the Union Buildings. Some have signed a petition to public protector Thuli Madonsela calling for Zuma to step down. Still others are being criticised for saying #ZumaMustFall is a white thing. Said one black tweeter: “So you must be white to be dissatisfied with poor decision making?”
Others speculated that Dudu Myeni, chairman of financially ruined SAA and head of the Zuma Foundation, has something on Zuma that he fired Nene, who had just one week ago told Myeni to tow the line and pull back on a major loss-malign deal she had concluded.
A tweeted cartoon by Zapiro
RT @Lean3JvV: The evolution of South African politics. #ZumaMustFall pic.twitter.com/t6J8sjlOfO — $lyzΔ GΔzu $ΘtΘb€ (@SlyzaGazuSotobe) December 10, 2015
Follow the #ZumaMustFall tweets here: