The ANC’s 55th national conference has kicked off to a chaotic start in the south of Johannesburg after some delegates from KwaZulu-Natal heckled President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal.
Delegates from KZN chanted: “change, change” as Ramaphosa arrived inside the conference plenary at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, with ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe threatening to call security to quell the chaos.
While Ramaphosa received a cold reception from KZN delegates, his predecessor, former president Jacob Zuma, received cheers from the delegates.
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The delegates also sang pro-Zuma songs and attempted to drown out Ramaphosa as he started making his political address after more than six hours of delays before the conference officially started due to accreditation problems.
The conference was meant to begin around 8am on Friday.
Ramaphosa has described the behaviour of the KZN delegates as “disorderly”, saying their actions did not bode well for the ANC and its public image.
He pleaded with delegates to express their displeasure respectfully.
This is a developing story. More to follow.
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