‘I’m sorry’ – Zuma apologises to supporters in Eastern Cape

Zuma

Gqeberha — Former president and leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, Jacob Zuma, has apologised to supporters of the party after he failed to show up for a rally in the Eastern Cape.

The party held a rally in Motherwell, Eastern Cape, and Zuma was expected to address the crowds at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday. However, he  was double-booked to address supporters in Braelyn, East London, nearly 300km from Gqeberha, on the same day, TimesLIVE reported.

The former president made the last-minute decision to attend a funeral of a “dear comrade”, Phumelele Tokwe, in Dikeni instead of going to Gqeberha.

“I want to take this opportunity to apologise for not arriving to discuss issues about our political party. I encountered a problem of a comrade who passed away and we knew each other very well. He was an MK party member. When I said I was not going to the funeral that became a problem,” he said.

He explained that the distance between East London and Gqeberha was too great to travel in one day, making it difficult for him to be in two cities on one day.

While at Tokwe’s funeral, Zuma said he was in the province to not only campaign but to resolve internal party leadership issues. The Eastern Cape has been governed by the African National Congress (ANC) party for many years and Zuma hopes the MK party can challenge them.

According to IOL, Zuma sent two members of his national executive committee to meet with structures in Nelson Mandela Bay metro to arrange another date where he will visit the area and hold another rally. He promised that he will not spend a day there, but two days to engage with members of the party.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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