Politics is always seen as this serious subject but is always filled with some hilarious statements especially when it comes to the leaders of political parties. I gathered a few of those statements and here are the ones that topped my list:

In the past weekend our Minister of Sport, Fikile Mbalula made headlines when he lashed out on Bafana Bafana in a media conference after they lost to Nigeria by 3-1 in the CAF Champions League last Sunday. “ Last night(Sunday) we saw a bunch of losers – unbearable, useless individuals. We must never wake up to this. We indeed have a crisis of monumental proportions, this tournament has proved. That mediocrity we saw yesterday is disgraceful.”

Mbalula’s statement caused an outcry and a debate among people of South Africa, such comments really make the country look bad, but I am in agreement with the minister as our national soccer team has been losing a lot lately. Last year South Africa was knocked out in the quarter finals of the African Nations Cup which they hosted. They have failed to qualify for the 2014 world cup finals in Brazil. Maybe calling a spade a spade might help our players up their game and persuade SAFA to do something about our losing team which puts our country in shame. He is sticking to his statement and has not apologized yet.

“Ask (Zuma) to get the cows he built a R1 million kraal for at Nkandla to vote for him. Teach him a lesson . Tell him in the spirit of the people of Marikana, you won’t vote.” Julius Malema uttered these words after he appeared in court in November last year. He was attacking president Jacob Zuma, Cyril Ramaphosa and the Public protector, Thuli Madonsela. He said these words encouraging Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members to work hard in recruiting new members and vote for his party. The ‘Nkandla’ issue has been on the news for quite sometime now. To think that our president’s cattle live in a million-rand kraal while most of the country’s citizens live in houses that do not t even cost half a million, this makes one wonder how the politics work in this country.

“While ECape education collapsed, WC built 30 schools-22 new, 8 replacement mainly 4 ECape edu refugees. 26 MORE new schools coming.”  Helen Zille referred to scholars that left the Eastern Cape to come and study in the western Cape province as ‘refugees’ and she was heavily criticized by a large number of people , from different political parties and she later apologized  saying that it was taken out of context. Calling students who leave their provinces in seek of a better education and better opportunities refugees was very harsh . How does one become a refugee in his/her own country? Isn’t it nice being a politician? You get to say anything you like and apologize later.

“We can’t think like Africans in Africa, generally. We are in Johannesburg. It is not some national road in Malawi.” said Jacob Zuma, addressing ANC manifesto forum attended by students, academics and business people at Wits University in Johannesburg in October last year. This one takes the cake. Um…Johannesburg is in South Africa (which is in Africa) and that makes people who live there Africans in Africa. Or not? Sigh.

“We want to eradicate all mud schools. We are already doing so. We are not in a hurry because no one is going to rule but the ANC.” These are also the president’s words and he said them at the official opening and handover of the Ngindini Senior primary School in Libode, Eastern Cape last week. ‘We are not in a hurry’ – how can the government be not in a hurry to build schools? There are thousands of kids in rural areas that still attend classes in mud classrooms. Some even attend classes under trees. Mud classrooms should have been dealt with a long time ago.

“God expects us to rule this country because we are the only organisation which was blessed by pastors when it was formed. It is even blessed in heaven. That is why we (ANC) will rule until Jesus comes back. We should not allow anyone to govern our city (Cape Town) when we are ruling the country.” This is yet another one of many statements that Jacob Zuma and the ANC members have made about ANC ruling until Jesus comes. Cyril Ramaphosa also followed suit saying that God and the ancestors want every South African to vote for the ANC in the upcoming elections. This goes to show how the ANC feels like it owns South Africa. This is a democratic country; people choose which party will rule them and on the upcoming elections we will see whether or not the ancestors really want everyone to vote ANC.

“Same sex marriage is a disgrace to the nation and to God. When I was growing up, ‘ungqingili [homosexuals in isiZulu] could not stand in front of me, I would knock him out. Jacob Zuma who was the Deputy President of the African National Congress (ANC) at the time, said this to thousands of supporters during a heritage day celebrations event in Kwazulu Natal in September 2006. This statement came as a shock and caused an uproar in the country, especially being said by the Deputy President in a country where we get to read and hear about homophobic attacks and they were rife at the time.

Our politicians seem to be getting away with many things  and the shocking statements they make simply because they apologize later and say their words were taken out of context by the media or say it was not their intention to cause conflict or sound insensitive about some issues that affect the people of South Africa.

Sources: City press, News 24, Iol , EWN

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