Yires divided over DA’s advert, Ramaphosa slams it as treasonous

May 7, 2024 218

The DA’s election advert, in which the South African flag is burnt, among others, has divided Yires about whether the opposition party’s move is unpatriotic.

Social media has been abuzz since the main opposition party released its advert yesterday, with some users saying it triggers times of instability during the apartheid regime, while others have praised the party for pushing boundaries.

Former Public Protector, Professor Thuli Madonsela, is among those who expressed concern on X, formerly Twitter.

Madonsela believes the DA’s advert is ill-advised because for many South Africans the flag is not just a flag, but a symbol of the country’s collective triumph against oppression.

Pollical analyst, Professor Sam Koma, on the other hand says the controversial advert reveals a sense of political desperation and the party’s attempt at being relevant.

Speaking to YNews, Prof Koma says any attempts to bring the country to the brink of collapse will not prevail.

Brand expert, Thebe Ikalafeng, was hard-hitting against the opposition party.

He says the official opposition has failed to read the room and missed the mark.

Speaking to Y’s sister channel, eNCA, Ikalafeng said the DA missed an opportunity to explicitly express its target.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has slammed the burning of the country’s flag as treasonous.

He says it undermines the principles of democracy.

In a statement, Ramaphosa says the flag holds profound significance for the nation as it represents the hard-won freedoms and peace achieved through historical struggles against injustice.

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Zizi Kodwa, says he is considering taking further steps against the DA.

The ANC Youth League is also hopping fuming.

The league’s National Spokesperson, Zama Khanyase, wants the party to issue a public apology over the political stunt.

DA Leader in Gauteng, Solly Msimanga, has, however, defended the party’s commercial, saying its intention was to get people talking.

Msimanga says the advertisement was not intended to insult South Africans.

Instead, he says, the widely viewed video was meant to get people to reflect on the current leadership of the country.

An Advert compared- to South Africa🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦in real life.

And compound to that the crime & murder statistics (80 per day) .

I assumed if the DA reserved its political Ad- will you do your BEST to combat the burning (Collapse) of our country in real life 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦? pic.twitter.com/Au9KBSNSaU

— Innocent Simango🇿🇦 (@Innocent_simang) May 7, 2024

I’m not into Politics but what the @Our_DA did by Burning the National Flag in there Advert leading up to the elections Absolutely disappointing… wrong move from u .. 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦

— kakspotter 🇿🇦 (@kakspotter) May 7, 2024

“Our South African dream will burn to ashes if we sit back on Election Day and allow the ANC/EFF/MK Doomsday Coalition to take power.

“But we can prevent our beautiful flag from burning, and we can prevent Doomsday – only if we come out in our millions to vote for the DA.” -… pic.twitter.com/Og28WmQfhl

— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) May 7, 2024

I posted this picture from the DA advert on Facebook and I got notification that it has been covered up because it is a graphic/violent image.

Even the Facebook system finds the burning of our flag detestable… a whole DA team from South Africa saw nothing wrong. #VoetsekDA pic.twitter.com/xYkiDojBpc

— Malema-nyana ❤💚🖤 (@UnmovedLee) May 6, 2024

I am listening to Solly Moeng @Solitoliquido on SAFM right now.
He is talking 💯 sense 🙏 regarding the controversy around the DA burning flag advert. @AshrafGarda was a bit shook 😵‍💫 when Solly said the advert was spot on and on point!! Our country is burning.

— One Nation SA – Corruption Buster (@OneNation70290) May 7, 2024

Written by: Nokwazi Qumbisa

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