After all the speculation of recent weeks, former president Jacob Zuma appeared on the memo of the national prayer held in his honour in Durban, on Thursday.
Jacob Zuma will address national prayer
A memorandum of the event has surfaced on social media, as droves of the 79-year-old’s die-hard fans gathered in anticipation of a raucous afternoon at People’s Park in Stamford Hill, Durban.
The national prayer, which has been delayed for hours, will be MC’d by spokesperson of the Jacob Zuma Foundation, Mzwanele Manyi.
The first part of the occasion, according to the leaked memo, is expected to include an address by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Sihle Zikalala, followed by words from church leaders.
The ANC Women’s League is expected to introduce the former president, who is due to make his first public appearance, since the infamous contempt arrest that spurred a nationwide shutdown that crippled economic hubs in parts of KZN and Gauteng.
It's a #ZumaDay #JacobZuma pic.twitter.com/dNxt4M8DeW
— 3M (@MlindeliMM) October 14, 2021
What is the national prayer about?
It remains to be seen what Zuma will say when he takes to the podium. A legal process is currently ongoing to determine whether his medical parole was warranted, and South Africans will be tuned in to hear what the former president’s response is.
From what we understand, the national prayer was organised as a means of protecting Zuma from “dark forces that want to finish him.”
“The people of South Africa have not forgotten that His Excellency President Zuma survived attempts in his life through poisoning… As if the incarceration that he has already suffered is not enough, other hateful right-wing organisations are still not happy, they want him back to the cold cells as of yesterday,” the Foundation exclaimed during last week’s media briefing.
Zuma is expected to provide an official response to the recent outcome of his bid to have his contempt conviction rescinded by the Constitutional Court.
The former president had not addressed the national prayer at the time this article was published.