Just days into 2019, these 4 politicians are already feeling the Twitter heat
It's only the third day of the new year and already these four politicians have gotten on the wrong side of Twitter.
1. Jacob Zuma
After receiving a warm welcome when he joined Twitter three weeks ago, former president Jacob Zuma got a taste of what it feels like to be on the bad books of people on social media.
Zuma became a Twitter casualty on Wednesday when he posted two videos captioned "My opinion on the land issue".
"Whites came, in South Africa in particular, came in and took the land. The struggle, the wars that were fought, many thousands and thousands of people who died defending their land, some were actually removed from a huge stretch of land ... You can't say those things did not happen," said Zuma.
The former president went on to clarify his opinion: "We are saying those who own huge stretches of land must share it with those who are indigenous, who owned this land before."
Some people on Twitter thought Zuma's opinion was populist, while others questioned why he had done little about the land issue in the nine years that he was the president.
But why did you not have this opinion when your were president for over 9 years, its amazing how when you no longer in charge you have so many opinions of the way things should be done but never implemented when you were... ironic hey
— Daryl Jacobs (@daryl1975) January 2, 2019
Therefore, Mr Zuma what I expect from you is a detailed plan and not just a populist vague and frivolous statement.
— Sekiti Phaladi EX-APLA Combatant (@SekitiP) January 2, 2019
You have done more damage but I believe you can take this opportunity to self correct through meaningful contributions.
Talk is cheap! You had many years to act but you were scared, now you think talking from armchair is progressive.
— The vagabond (@Morokaroka) January 2, 2019
2. Donald Trump
By now, US president Donald Trump must have developed a thick skin against any social media backlash. Every time he tweets, he is guaranteed to get thousands of replies, many of them critical.
On the very first day of the year, Trump got people worked up on Twitter. In a tweet that seemed like it was intended to be provocative, Trump wrote: "HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE HATERS AND THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA!"
The Twitter community found the post "unpresidential" and did not hesitate to let the president know, with nearly 75,000 replies.
There is absolutely nothing Presidential about you. NOTHING! pic.twitter.com/00yBHorZhF
— Rsimmons (@rhs9687) January 2, 2019
This is just like when you wished us a happy 9/11. Ugh.
— Meghan (@magneggy) January 2, 2019
Great things? As in you not being President anymore? That would be great.
— Brian Gomez (@bgo161416) January 2, 2019
3. Derek Hanekom
The author of another 'tweet gone wrong' is tourism minister Derek Hanekom, who singled out Johannesburg as a filthy city and implied that it had deteriorated since the DA's Herman Mashaba took over as mayor.
South African Twitter found the tweet unbecoming of a minister charged with growing the country's tourism industry. Also, many people felt that the minister was biased in shaming Johannesburg while many ANC-led municipalities were in an equally appalling state.
Our Johannesburg. The commercial centre of our country. @HermanMashaba you promised so much, but parts of the city are filthier than ever before. Not good. This is a basic municipal function. pic.twitter.com/DltrUXJ7kH
— Derek Hanekom (@Derek_Hanekom) January 2, 2019
This is on Albertina Sisulu Rd, the main route from the airport into town. There is a litter strewn on every corner. @Our_DA you control this municipality. With your partner @EFFSouthAfrica. Surely you can do better than this? pic.twitter.com/7sqjawE5kW
— Derek Hanekom (@Derek_Hanekom) January 2, 2019
4. Tito Mboweni
Mboweni's turn to feel the heat also came quite early in the new year. After days of Mboweni tweeting about how "clean and beautiful" the Rwandan city of Kigali is, South Africans couldn't take it anymore.
People on Twitter thought the finance minister's tweets were overly enthusiastic, especially when he tweeted a photo of a filthy local street corner and wrote: "You won't see this in Kigali."