Baptism of fire for Ramaphosa

Harare-South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was on Saturday jeered as he addressed mourners during the state funeral of late former President Robert Mugabe.

Speaking during the funeral at the National Sports Stadium, President Ramaphosa was interrupted by boos from the crowd over recent spates of xenophobic violence in his country.

After the situation calmed Ramaphosa apologised for the violence much to the cheers of the crowd.

“In the past two weeks we have had challenges, some of which was directed at nationals from other countries. This has led to the death and injuries of other people some of which were nationals of other countries but the majority are South Africans.

“I stand before you to apologise for what has happened in our country. What has happened in South Africa goes against the unity of African people that President Mugabe, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela stood for,” said Ramaphosa

Xenophobic attacks erupted in South Africa two weeks ago as locals accused foreign nationals of taking their jobs. Several people were killed while others were killed.