Shimza ‘tender’ joke backfires: Here’s why social media owned him

Shimza's lighthearted joke did not sit well with many ordinary South Africans who are adversely affected by tender fraud.

By / / News
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DJ Shimza, once a darling to many, has found himself in a public relations meltdown of sorts after a light-hearted tweet ended in backlash.

Social media owns Shimza for ‘tender’ joke

On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa was in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, on a vaccination site inspection drive. According to his office, this oversight visit was a means to “motivate greater numbers of South Africans to embrace vaccination as the most effective weapon in the fight against COVID-19.”

“The President will visit a public health facility in Tembisa and a private-public partnership centre in Midrand in recognition of the close collaboration between government, the private sector and active support of social partners,” the statement read.

Joining the online discussion around the president’s Tembisa visit, Shimza thought it would be the most opportune moment to lighten the mood around his alleged shoddy ties with the local government in the region.

Remember, the producer has been linked to a number of dubious tender contracts he may have scored with his township businesses, including the popular Hang Awt restaurant that recently featured on eNCA‘s ‘Checkpoint.

The claims remain untested but there is a belief that Shimza’s rumoured romantic relationship with Presidency spokesperson Athi Geleba may have moved him up the ranks in earning tender deals with he Ekurhuleni municipality

Shimza has vehemently denied these claims, of course, and on Thursday, he may have felt an itch to bring comedic relief to the serious allegations.

In a tweet that’s since gone viral, the producer lamented at the thought of being accused of yet another tender scam if Ramaphosa were to spend lunch at his restaurant.

Of course, this was said in jest but for many ordinary citizens who’ve been adversely affected by wide scale tender fraud, this was far from humorous.

These were just some of the reactions to Shimza’s tweet: