Former ANC president Jacob Zuma was humiliated at the party's January 8 rally in East London yesterday when a large section of supporters booed him and gestured that he should leave.
Zuma arrived at the Buffalo City Stadium alongside his counterpart from Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta, when the programme was already under way, and faced repeated booing every time footage of him entering was shown on the big screen.
It was the first time Zuma had been booed at a national ANC event, although he suffered a similar humiliation at the memorial service for former president Nelson Mandela at the FNB stadium in 2013 - in front of several heads of state, including then US president Barack Obama.The latest incident comes as pressure is mounting on the ANC national executive committee to remove Zuma. It will give his detractors additional ammunition to call for his head because it shows he has become unpopular with party supporters and voters.
The crowd on the pitch in front of the stage jeered and booed Zuma and made gestures indicating change.
When Zuma was acknowledged on stage, the crowd booed again, but clapped furiously when Kenyatta was acknowledged.
However, a small group of mostly ANC Women's League members sitting in stands to the left of the stage clapped when Zuma entered the stadium.
When newly elected ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa took to the podium to deliver his address, he acknowledged Zuma but the crowd would have none of it.
Ramaphosa quickly rebuked the crowd, saying the rally should be a day of celebration and rejoicing. "It is not a day of what you are doing," he said.
Zuma's security contingent was larger than Ramaphosa's and Kenyatta's.
The ANC had expected 120,000 of the party faithful to fill the stadium and two overflow venues next to it. All three venues were packed almost to capacity before 9am...