In response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s remarks on the main opposition party’s election advertisement, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen equated the Phala Phala saga, as well as high unemployment, poverty, hunger, and a lack of service delivery that has sparked protests, with treason.
Also read: Ramaphosa slams DA’s flag-burning ad as ‘treasonous, despicable’
The DA released an election advertisement last Sunday that depicted a burning South African flag. According to the party, it was intended to represent the country’s ‘deteriorating state and warning of further decline and instability’.
Ramaphosa condemned the advertisement and called it treasonous.
‘The burning of the national flag in a political advertisement is treasonous. Our country’s flag is a sacred symbol in our national life,’ Ramaphosa said this week.
‘It is despicable for a political party to destroy a symbol of our unity and existence as a nation.’
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Steenhuisen, speaking at the end of the DA’s country-wide ‘Rescue South Africa Tour’ on Thursday at the Zone 6 venue in Soweto, stated that Ramaphosa was the last person to bring up treason issues.
‘If there is one person in this country who is guilty of treason against the people of South Africa, it is Cyril Ramaphosa,’ he said.
According to Steenhuisen, Ramaphosa committed treason by assisting former President Jacob Zuma in selling the country to the Guptas and serving as ‘chairman of the corrupt cadre deployment committee that captured our state.’
The leader of the official opposition labelled Ramaphosa and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) as ‘traitors.’
‘He committed treason against our flag when he stuffed thousands of undeclared American Dollars into his Phala Phala couch! He committed treason against our flag when he consigned over 30 million people to poverty and over 10 million people to unemployment!’ Steenhuisen said.
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Watch: The Kiffness throws fuel on the fire with flag-burning ad parody
Picture: John Steenhusen/ Facebook