PEOPLE JACOB ZUMA

IT’S REALLY ME: EX-PRESIDENT

TELLS TWITTER POST ISN’T FAKE FORMER President Jacob Zuma reaffirmed his presence on Twitter yesterday by posting another video, saying his account was not a parody and that he was “still learning about the ‘sphithiphithi’ (chaos) of social media”.

“I hear that some people are doubting whether I have joined social media, yes it is me, I have, it is real and I am sure it’s going to take time for people to get used to me being part of the conversation in social media. “I know that, of course, that some people have been using some fake accounts on my name but now it’s me, I am there and of course with time people will realise that I am engaging on matters that have been there. “I have not been engaging for a long time and I just thought it was high time I do so.

You will get used to me, I am part of the people and I am with them and I must be in the conversation to correct things and to also respond to things that need to be responded to,” Zuma said. He caused a frenzy on Twitter on Friday as he announced his arrival on the platform with a video explaining that he was joining Twitter to move with the times and be part of the discussion. He has over 80 000 followers and many have called on Twitter to verify his account. To some, joining Twitter came across as a ploy by Zuma to fund-raise for his court battles as well as to pay back the R15.3 million in legal fees that the state had paid for him. On Thursday the North Gauteng High Court ordered that Zuma pay his own legal fees and pay back the estimated R15.3 million that the state had already used to help him defend his corruption and fraud cases. One account under the name Muke posted Capitec bank account details, saying they were “fund-raising for ubaba. It goes direct, no middle man, SA is a giving nation, let’s say thank you Msholozi!” However Zuma quickly nipped that in the bud, saying the fund-raising drive for him was false. Professor Bheki Mngomezulu, politics lecturer at the University of Western CAPE(UWC) said: “This will help him talk directly to his followers. Most of the people use social media as a form of communication so it is a wise decision for him to join social media platforms.” |