It was rowdy yesterday as hundreds of supporters gathered in a show of solidarity for Ex-South African President Jacob Zuma outside his Nkandla homestead, as the deadline for him to hand himself over inches closer.
Africa Daily News, New York had on Tuesday reported that in a ruling, Zuma was asked by the constitutional court to hand himself over by Sunday to start a 15-month jail term for contempt of court.
Supporters, mainly members of the African National Congress’s Umkhonto Wesizwe military wing, have for weeks camped outside Zuma’s home in KwaZula-Natal province in solidarity with the former leader.
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Donning traditional leopard skins and ostrich feathers – wielding spears, shields, and clubs known as ‘knobkerries,’ men known as ‘amaButho,’ or Zulu regiments marched in the streets of Nkandla, singing praise songs about Zuma.
Bare-breasted women in elaborate necklaces and headbands danced and sang as they paraded.
‘The reason I am here is because I love Zuma,’ one supporter told reporters, ‘when he was in leadership we had no electricity problems, there was no lockdown or covid.’
Palpable tension has been bubbling this week as members of the MKMVA military veterans’ association threatened that there would be instability in the country if the former leader was apprehended, promising to form a human shield around the former South African leader.
If the 79-year-old fails to turn himself in by Sunday, police will be given a further three days to arrest him and take him to jail to start his sentence.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
