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WATCH: ‘President have mercy on me’ – pleads voter
Imameleng Raphuthing pleads with President Ramaphosa for assistance, citing years of neglect and lack of IDs for her children.
President Cyril Ramaphosa casts his vote at Hitekani Primary School in Chiawelo, Soweto, yesterday, alongside his wife Tshepo Motsepe, as South Africans vote in the general elections. Picture: Michel Bega
A hopeless and disgruntled Imameleng Raphuthing eagerly awaited President Cyril Ramaphosa’s arrival at Hitekani Primary School in Soweto yesterday to cast his ballot.
Raphuthing travelled from Molapo in Soweto early in the morning in an attempt to beg for the president’s mercy.
She said she is furious that the ANC had failed her and her seven children since 1994.
‘Have mercy on me’
“My president have mercy on me,” she was screaming, before falling to her knees.
“My kids do not have birth certificates. I don’t have an identity document (ID) and everywhere I go I am told stories,” she said.
ALSO READ: WATCH: ‘People of SA will give ANC firm majority in elections’ – Ramaphosa
Watch the video of Raphuthing pleading with the president here:
🗳️An emotional Imameleng Raphuthing who traveled to Chaiwelo, where the President is voting says it has been years of struggling without an ID.
— The Citizen News (@TheCitizen_News) May 29, 2024
'My President have mercy on me,' she called in an attempt to get Ramaphosa's attention.#electionday2024 #electionssa2024 #ElectionDay… pic.twitter.com/FlneSULPgS
“I was 20 years old when I voted for the ANC. I have knocked on every door but no help has been given to us. I am now 50 years old and we are suffering. I am like a foreigner in my own country.”
Winding queues begun early outside the primary school, located near the home of the president.
Some residents were unimpressed with the presence of Ramaphosa and, instead, voiced their concerns about alleged corruption and poor living conditions.
Ramaphosa confident ANC will win
But Ramaphosa said that he was confident that the ANC would emerge victorious in the elections.
“The people of South Africa will give the ANC a firm majority,” he said.
ALSO READ: Cyril’s family meeting ‘will not sway voters’ after hearing party propaganda – expert
“We kept on encouraging the people of our country that we want to run a clean campaign. We are determined to ensure that democracy is the winner in this election. In the end, it is this process that will emerge victorious and the ANC will reap a dividend of that by emerging as the winning party.”
President concern about incidents
Ramaphosa said he was concerned about the incidents that have been reported and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has raised its concerns about threats of violence during and after the elections.
“The work of the IEC is sacred, it should never be interfered with, because when you interfere with the work of the IEC, you interfere with our democracy,” he said.
“You are trying to subvert the will of our people and the will of South Africa should never be disrupted or interfered with.”
