President Jacob Zuma was subjected to possibly his greatest humiliation yet when he was booed and prevented from making a speech by Cosatu members at a Workers’ Day event in Bloemfontein on Monday.
The ANC alliance partner’s May Day celebrations ended in chaos as persistent chanting, anti-Zuma singing and brawling between the president’s supporters and opponents forced the organisers to call the whole thing off.
Zuma was expected to deliver the keynote address at Cosatu’s main Worker’s Day celebration.
Members of Cosatu affiliate unions NUM, Sadtu and Nehawu chanted: “Zuma se moer, Zuma must fall, voetsek.”
Some carried placards reading: “Cosatu is dividing us. Declared that JZ cannot lead the country. But today they invite him to address. Who is fooling who?”
Continuous heckling from a crowd of union members forced the May Day rally to end without a single speech being heard. SACP’s Blade Nzimande expressed his despair on this:
