THOUSANDS of uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) members have begun their trek to Orlando Stadium for the party’s manifesto launch.
One of the buses from Harding, filled with party supporters who had camped in the area since the early hours of the morning, arrived at the stadium.
Zethu Nkonzo, a party supporter, told The Star how excited she was to be in Soweto.
“I am here to show my support for the MK Party as we head into the elections,” she said.
“This is my first time in Soweto, so I am thrilled to be here. The MK Party is the only alternative to see us through our troubles as young, unemployed people. I think Msholozi is the only leader who can help us overcome the scourge of unemployment,” Nkonzo said.
Zuma was expected to usher in a new dawn as the MKP seeks to win this year’s elections.
Sources close to the arrangements indicated that more than 130 buses, mostly from kind-hearted sympathisers, had been earmarked for the South Coast area, with media reports suggesting that it would take more than 600 buses, each carrying 60 passengers, to fill up the 37 000-seater Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
“We have been told that at least more than 110 buses have been canvassed from this area to ensure that we fill up Orlando Stadium. You must remember that these buses have not been paid for but are from people who want to see the MK Party succeed,” said Khanyisani Mchunu from Harding.
This is the reality of the challenges facing the organisers of the MKP’s manifesto launch on Saturday.
Previously, MKP supporters in Johannesburg asked the party to launch the manifesto at the 100 000-seater FNB Stadium.
Speaking to The Star ahead of Zuma’s address, Black First Land First Party leader Andile Mngxitama, whose party has chosen the MKP as its ally, said after more than 30 years the ANC’s anti-black agenda would be tested.
“The MK Party’s significance is a gesture towards real change. Today we affirm the quest towards economic emancipation and the return of our stolen land. President Jacob Zuma symbolises that new hope,“ he said.
The Star