Florence Masebe on the president’s call to celebrate Heritage Day with the 'Jerusalema' challenge

24 September 2020 - 11:00 By chrizelda kekana
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Actress Florence Masebe takes Heritage Day seriously enough to question the president's call.
Actress Florence Masebe takes Heritage Day seriously enough to question the president's call.
Image: Via Florence Masebe Instagram

Veteran actress Florence Masebe has weighed in on President Cyril Ramaphosa's call for the nation to celebrate Heritage Day by doing the Jerusalema dance challenge. 

The president made the call to Mzansi to use the public holiday to celebrate the heritage of SA people and to join the world by participating in the viral #JerusalemaChallenge.

There's no doubt the hit track by Master KG and Nomcebo has taken the world by storm and has played a vital role in showcasing what Mzansi has to offer. So, it wasn't surprising that Ramaphosa gave the track a shout-out during his address to the nation last week.

Most people were excited by the call, including Master KG himself, but Florence shared a different perspective.

After fighting braai day people for years, we are here. The president and company thought it smart to declare a song with a biblical tone our heritage pride for 2020. I want us to really think about what this represents without assuming that those opposing his declaration hate the song,” she said.

Florence felt that the song, which at its essence is about the biblical city of Jerusalem, had nothing to do with the celebrations that should be taking place on Heritage Day. 

“Heritage Day, for those of us who take it seriously, is not a gimmick. Cyril Ramaphosa's declaration that we should do the Jerusalema dance on Heritage Day is as baffling as Moruti Tutu's endorsement of that national Braai Day,” Florence said.

The actress made it clear that she had nothing against the song itself and that she, like the rest of Mzansi, welcomed and celebrated its global success.


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