The funeral of ANC struggle veteran and former Eastern Cape Premier Reverend Makhenkesi Stofile took a political turn when former foreign affairs director-general Sipho Pityana’s speech took aim at the current ANC leadership.
Pityana's uncommonly fiery funeral speech was directed more generally at high-ranking political figures in the front row. Absent was President Jacob Zuma who ended up in the firing line for a host of issues including Nkandla, Marikana, police clampdown on protestors, corruption and how these led directly to the ANC’s loss of support in the recent local elections.
Social media and online news sites lit up after the speech.
Others — most notably the ANC Youth League — said the funeral was not the place to openly discuss internal matters of the ANC.
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