The South African State of the Nation address (SONA) was delivered by President Jacob Zuma in Cape Town yesterday, and had #SONA trending with thousands of tweets.
#SONA was reportedly trending at number three yesterday on Twitter.
Many South Africans took to tweeting about SONA, with responses both positive and negative. This is what South African public figures and celebrities had to say:
Public figure and satirist Evita Bezuidenhout (@TannieEvita) tweeted: “and as our beloved President stumbles, coughs and sneezes his way through #SONA, we hear the sound of investment hurriedly leaving our land.” It was retweeted 185 times.
Gareth Cliff, South Africa’s popular Five FM DJ, started a SONA drinking game, the rules of which stated every time Zuma cleared his throat, said the word “absolutely” or pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, people had to drink a shot of alcohol.
Furthermore, if Zuma began laughing – which he did when he lost his place during the speech – or mentioned Nquza Hill or ABSA, people had to down two shots.
Before the actual address, Cliff (@GarethCliff) tweeted: “Another throat clear, and we haven’t even said hi to all the dignitaries… Damn Phuza [meaning drink] Thursday #JZSOTNDrinks.”
Twitter users playing Cliff’s drinking game were quite inebriated before the SONA began, as one user tweeted his score was 15 shots.
Mmusi Maimane (@MaimaneAM), Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson and Johannesburg caucus leader, tweeted: “My sum up of the speech. It was like having a stir fry without any meat. It’s fine if you’re a vegetarian. I just missed the substance. #SONA.”
Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah), a famous South African comedian tweeted: “After watching the state of the nation, imagine Jacob Zuma whispering romantically in your ear. #HappyValentines”, poking fun at Zuma’s pronunciation.
Zuma also mentioned social media during the opening of his speech.
“Let me also extend my gratitude to all who contributed to the preparation of this address. I received several messages via email, Twitter and Facebook,” said Zuma.
