{"id":315795,"date":"2017-05-02T06:00:20","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T06:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=315795"},"modified":"2017-05-02T06:00:20","modified_gmt":"2017-05-02T06:00:20","slug":"south-africas-jacob-zuma-abandons-rally-after-being-booed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/05\/south-africas-jacob-zuma-abandons-rally-after-being-booed\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa’s Jacob Zuma abandons rally after being booed"},"content":{"rendered":"
South Africa’s scandal-hit President Jacob Zuma has abandoned a May Day rally after he was booed by workers demanding his resignation.<\/p>\n
Scuffles broke out between Mr Zuma’s supporters and opponents, resulting in all speeches being cancelled.<\/p>\n
The main labour federation, Cosatu, called on Mr Zuma to step down last month after he sacked his widely respected finance minister.<\/p>\n
Mr Zuma’s allies say he will remain in office until his term ends in 2019.<\/p>\n
He was seen on live television hastily leaving the podium and being whisked away in a motorcade from the rally in Bloemfontein city, Reuters news agency reports.<\/p>\n
Mr Zuma attended the rally despite the fact that powerful affiliates of Cosatu, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, had opposed his presence.<\/p>\n
Cosatu is part of a formal alliance with the governing African National Congress (ANC).<\/p>\n
Earlier, sections of the crowd sang a song which, loosely translated, means: “Have you heard the good news? Zuma is going”, South Africa’s privately owned News24 site reports.<\/p>\n
Cosatu leader Sdumo Dlamini said the rally had been marred by “chaos”, forcing its cancellation.<\/p>\n
The protest required “thorough reflection” on the part of the country’s leaders, he said.<\/p>\n
Senior ANC officials were also booed at a May Day rally in Durban city, the political heartland of Mr Zuma.<\/p>\n
Pressure on Mr Zuma to resign has been mounting since he sacked Pravin Gordhan as finance minister in March.<\/p>\n
It led to global rating agencies downgrading South Africa to junk status.<\/p>\n