Johannesburg – Former president Jacob Zuma made his way into the plenary as a branch delegate, and his appearance has since commanded everyone's attention, with many showing support while others denounced him for his presence.
He arrived to a crescendo of pro-Zuma songs, which disrupted President Ramaphosa as he was making his political report.
Some of the delegates were chanting "Wenzeni uZuma", which loosely translates as, "What did Zuma do?".
At a press conference on Saturday morning, ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe explained why Zuma was at the conference, following a string of questions about his presence.
"He is a branch delegate. So branch delegates sit in spaces reserved for delegates from branches. So he is a branch delegate at this conference. If I were a branch delegate, I would be sitting with branch delegates. Of course, I am in the National Executive Committee (NEC), but he chose to sit with branch delegates because he is coming here representing a branch."
This occurred in the presence of over 4 000 delegates from across the country who gathered at Nasrec in Johannesburg.
The conference – that runs for five days – is a watershed moment for the ANC as they are expected to elect new leadership and come up with policies to benefit South Africa.
Despite being delayed, Mabe assured the media the conference will wrap up on December 20, as planned.
The party said the task of the elective conference was to agree on necessary measures to ensure not only the economy recovers and creates more employment, but that it steadily improves the lives of South Africans, particularly workers and the poor.
The Star