Thursday evening was President Jacob Zuma’s first State of the Nation address for 2010 and I decided to go and have a look at the run up to JZee’s speech.
I gathered in Adderley Street with my fellow Cape Townians to see a glimpse of Nelson Mandela. Rumors were going around that former President Nelson Mandela would make an appearance alongside Jacob Zuma. I have wanted to see Mandela all my life and this would be the ideal opportunity.
I saw only police officers upon arrival. I did not know Cape Town had so many police officers. There were more officers than beggars or blind people at the traffic lights. We all waited for more than an hour before there was any action. Military and navy personal on motorbikes and horses came up Adderley as the sun started to set. A white car appeared behind the wall of officers and in the car sat JZee with only one of his wives. He waved at us as he made his way to parliament, but I (along with all the people around me) was upset to not see Mandela.
The highlight of the day was not seeing JZee’s gap between his teeth, but seeing an officer fall right in front of me. The officer was driving his motorbike in formation when suddenly he lost balance and fell down. I immediately grabbed my camera and started laughing. This was an epic fail for the officer. Luckily he wore a helmet to help with the impact and covering his face from the millions of people watching him on TV. The fall might not have made it to the 8o’clock news, but its something I will remember more than any of the promises JZee made to create jobs or alleviate poverty.
Seeing the officer fall was hilarious, but then he just remained in the road showing no indication of moving. What appeared to be an epic fail, turned out to be a serious crash. The ambulance appeared and he was put onto a stretcher, forced into the back and rushed off. The same way vomit gets cleaned up as soon as possible when obstructing the entrance to a club in greenpoint.
I might never see Nelson Mandela, but it sure as hell was another eventful day in the streets of Cape Town.
