“I have been told I should stay where I am because I am
just too dark and people do not see me properly when I stand over there,”
Ramaphosa said to laughter from the audience he was due to address.
Ramaphosa, who was speaking in his capacity as the chair of
the Sadc organ on politics, defence and security co-operation, was about to
deliver his closing remarks during the summit when he made the lighthearted
comments.
Earlier, he had made his opening remarks while standing
behind the poorly lit podium which was a few steps away from where he was
seated.
Later, while seated on a white leather chair with a blue
and white Sadc backdrop, Ramaphosa quipped: “So you see my darkness has
contributed to me having to sit here.”
He continued to make his closing remarks at the summit
which agreed to extend the deployment of standby forces in Mozambique to
continue combating acts of terrorism and violent extremists in the country’s
Cabo Delgado province.
This is not the first time Ramaphosa has gone off script by
making fun of himself. Three months ago, while making an announcement in Cape
Town, he had a moment of panic when he could not locate his iPad.
On that day, Ramaphosa was due to announce that the
National Ports Authority would become an independent subsidiary of Transnet, but
he was briefly delayed because he was unable to find the device which contained
his speech, bringing comic relief to the room.
After being introduced to the podium by acting presidency
spokesperson Tyrone Seale, Ramaphosa said in jest: “I am looking for my iPad.
Somebody stole my iPad.
“Somebody decided they want to dispossess me of my iPad, so
I want that. Can I have my iPad please? They stole it.”
The iPad was later found.
TimesLIVE
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