A memorial for the 13 fallen South African soldiers sent to the Central African Republic (CAR) to fight the Seleka rebels took place today, causing many Tweets by both media companies and the public using #CARMemorial.
The 13 soldiers were killed in action at their base outside Bangui, capital of the CAR, on March 23. Soldiers in full uniform, the families of the deceased soldiers, politicians and media groups attended the memorial service.
Aside from the various media companies using #CARMemorial to tweet about the proceedings of the memorial service, South Africans also used it to comment on president Jacob Zuma’s speech. #CARMemorial was trending at number one for most of today.
During his speech praising the efforts of the fallen soldiers and discrediting the “unfounded allegations and conspiracy theories”, he said: “The problem with South Africa is, everybody wants to run the country.” This is what some Twitter users had to say in response:
@city_press yes! because you are failing to run it.
— kaizerkhunwane (@Kaizerngwako) April 2, 2013
Allow me to summarise Zuma’s message: This was a noble mission. Now stop asking questions. Stop trying to run the country. #CARsoldiers
— Alex Eliseev (@alexeliseev) April 2, 2013
#CARsoldiers #CARMemorial RIP brave people. Zuma’s speech at the memorial is one big lie after another and does the deceased no justice.
— Rudi Ernst (@rudiernst) April 2, 2013
Can the president give the families of the deceased a share of money being spent on his house…#CARMemorial
— Thabo Lephoto (@thabolephoto) April 2, 2013
