First lady has earned her Instafame
WITH more than 93 000 followers and 1 200 posts on her Instagram account, First Lady Thobeka Madiba-zuma can most certainly be called a social media butterfly.
She may have used her most recent post to throw shade on ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa and defending her husband, President Jacob Zuma, but the first lady’s account displays, in the most part, her love for her family and more especially her husband.
Hundreds of pictures of Zuma with their children can be found on her account, many with long and inspirational captions.
From birthdays, to anniversaries, workout routines and fashion, visits to other countries to pictures with many who visit their homestead in Nkandla, she perfectly maps out the life of a first lady through her Instagram posts.
One post in particular stands out. The image shows a young, fresh-face 21-year-old Thobeka shaking hands with a full-bearded Zuma. This, she says in her caption, was the first photo taken of the two on the day they had met.
“It had to be destined for me to be on the other side of the counter as a banker and the rest is history,” she writes, followed by a long paragraph of how no matter the storms, they stood the test of time. That post garnered 2 387 likes, which the millennials call “Instafame”.
Her Instagram account also carries numerous images of news reports in which she featured.
One in particular is a Sunday Times front page with the headline, “Bank guns for Zuma wife”. Her captioned remark followed: “When is this propaganda going to stop?” In the same caption she continues to publish the questions the paper sent her with the responses she sent back.
The Zuma family may have issued an apology for her controversial posts on Friday defending her husband but the first lady’s post is still alive and well on her Instagram account, with her showing no remorse for her actions.
The post was liked by more than 5 000 people.