Why I'm marching against Zuma: 94-year-old protester explains why she joined #NationalDayofAction

Emily Mohapi is 94 years old‚ has sore knees and leans on her walking stick to slowly get by but she was not about to be left out of the march to force President Jacob Zuma out of office.

The elderly South African from Protea South in Johannesburg was amongst thousands already gathered at the overflowing Church Square in Pretoria ahead of the Call for Action anti-Zuma march to the Union Buildings.

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“I do not have a house‚ I live in a shack‚ I do not have water and none of my children are working. There is nothing to rejoice about this freedom. What I want to see now is Zuma gone because he is destroying instead of building our country‚” she said.

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She and others left Protea South in a bus around 6am to travel to Pretoria to take part in the National Day of Action march.

Mohapi is assisted to get around Church Square by her neighbour Winnie Mashiqa‚54.

“She told me last night that she wants to take part in the march and I promised to make sure that her dream is fulfilled. Now mine is to make sure that she is able to get around with ease. She was part of the last week's march at Johannesburg and she really wanted to be here‚” she said.

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Mohapi joined thousands who gathered in Church Square on Wednesday morning.

Anti-Zuma songs are reverberating at the Church Square‚ with people mocking Zuma's 75th birthday as his “Death Day”‚ saying his days were numbered.

The march to the Union Buildings got underway around midday with a strong presence of public order police.

The dominant party at the venue is the EFF‚ with their leader Julius Malema pleading for discipline.

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According to police‚ 10 000 people were expected to take part in the march‚ with buses ferrying marchers from Atteridgeville‚ Mabopane‚ Soshanguve‚ Hammanskraal‚ Olivenhoutbosch and as far as Mpumalanga.

Calls for Zuma to step down have been escalating after his axing of finance minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas‚ resulting in the country's investment status downgraded to junk by two rating agencies Fitch and Standard and Poor's.