Forget anything else‚ #ZumaMustFall is top of the trends

Not even Oscar Pistorius‚ Brexit or Bonang could push #ZumaMustFall off its top spot on social media.

For two-and-a-half years‚ the hashtag and related references - #JZ783‚ #ZumaMustGo‚ #ZumaGate‚ #ZumaStepDown #ImpeachZuma‚ #FireZuma‚ #PhansiZuma and #HambaZuma - have been trending.

According to media monitoring firm ROi Africa‚ #ZumaMustFall‚ created when the country went into protest mode amid a series of allegations against Number One‚ reached its peak when President Jacob Zuma fired finance ministers Nhlanhla Nene and Pravin Gordhan.

"It continues to trend every day for various reasons. The second a new story breaks about the president or the Guptas‚ the hashtag grows‚" said ROi Africa’s managing director Tonya Khoury.

During the saga of the secret ballot and the Motion of No Confidence vote‚ social media activity was bigger than during the Oscar Pistorius saga.

"Pistorius was the biggest story the world had ever seen since the advent of social media. Zuma also trended across the world during the axing of Pravin Gordhan‚ beating stories like Brexit on the international charts‚" Khoury said.

She said the #ZumaMust fall continues to trend because politics is "relentless" in South Africa.

"The second EFF steps into Parliament social media is set alight‚ and most of the focus is on the president."

Attention deficit on social media also boosts the hashtag.

"We get hung up on a story but only until the next one comes along. Look at Bonang. She was the largest story in the past couple of weeks and now she’s completely left off the charts.

"Manana was a huge story but only for one week‚ Grace Mugabe‚ Cyril Ramaphosa‚ all only last a few days on the charts. The collective thought process on social media is that all will be fixed if the president steps down and hence the fixation on #ZumaMustFall‚" Khoury explained.