ANC head of elections Fikile Mbalula, centre. Picture: Siphephile Sibanyoni/ African News agency/ ANA
In a peculiar tweet on Friday, the ANC’s head of elections, Fikile Mbalula, was not enthused about news that former president Jacob Zuma has joined social media.
However, he initially thought the account was fake.
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He reacted to a tweet in which Mzwanele Manyi advertised Zuma’s Twitter account, writing: “Don’t encourage this.”
Despite Mbalula’s discouragement, Zuma picked up 25,000 followers in just three hours, one of them being Mbalula himself.
Zuma’s second tweet said a Capitec account supposedly linked to him soliciting funds to pay his legal fees was false and people should not fall for the scam.
The ANC recently made something of a deal with Zuma in which he reportedly agreed to not give a platform to ANC critics outside court when he appears on his corruption trial, and in return the ANC would let him campaign for next year’s elections and not officially distance themselves from him.
Many interpreted it as a sign that the current ANC leadership may have underestimated Zuma’s enduring popularity, despite the widespread criticism he also continues to be subjected to.
Mbalula’s tweet did not immediately make sense to everyone, and he was criticised for it by others.
One person pointed out that Zuma could end up with more followers than Mbalula, who is known for taking such stats very seriously.
There was also a general feeling that Zuma might use his platform to “expose” long-held ANC secrets.
Others have been more critical of Zuma, seeing the move as a way to perhaps cash in on public sympathy or perhaps just ask for some actual cash.
One user said it would be interesting how long it took for Zuma to pass Ramaphosa on Twitter.
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