Image: Penwell Dlamini
After a long day waiting to find out who would be the ANC’s top six leaders‚ members of the ruling party took to Soweto to celebrate and some to drown their sorrows.
Some conference delegates chose to celebrate the victory of Cyril Ramaphosa over Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma just outside the Nasrec Expo Centre‚ where the conference took place. They parked their cars along the road and played music‚ dancing to struggle songs. On the side of the road were bottles of beer‚ sodas and spirits.
But others chose to go to nearby waterholes. The first stop was Moja Café in Orlando East in Soweto. Cars were parked on both sides of the road and the two marquees of the café were packed to capacity.
When TimesLIVE got inside‚ there was literally no space to even stand. Each table was marked with a bucket with ice and beer and hubbly bubbly. Smoke from the different flavours of tobacco filled the air as the DJ got patrons up on their feet with house grooves.
Only a few of the conference delegates were still in ANC regalia. Most of the patrons were considerably young.
One of the revellers decided to take his BMW M4 for a spin. Just as he revved the engine‚ security at the club jumped up and stopped him. The guards then spent the next five minutes explaining to the young driver‚ who had a young lady passenger‚ how dangerous his actions were.
While their attention was on the youngster‚ another driver in a BMW M2 did a quick spin and drove off. His spin was celebrated with whistles from the guys and the ladies screamed.
TimesLIVE then moved the biggest attraction in Soweto‚ Sakhumzi restaurant. Vilakazi Street‚ which leads to this road‚ was congested as more and more people arrived just after midnight. All types of German machines decorated pavements on both sides.
Inside the restaurant there was simply no space as ANC delegates had packed the venue. This time the age group was more senior than Moja Café. Restaurant staff ran up and down to make the most of what could be their best night this festive season. One of the delegates decided to take the dance floor but his moves clearly gave away his age‚ and onlookers burst out in laughter.
Across the road a small group of delegates chose the less noisy Vuyo's restaurant to have a quiet conversation.
Other delegates who wanted a calmer atmosphere went up Vilakazi Street to another venue that was less congested. As TimesLIVE left this spot‚ there were still more delegates arriving.