S. Africa's ruling party blames labour union for Zuma heckling

South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) is blaming the country’s labour front Cosatu for the embarrassing end to its main Workers’ Day rally.

President Jacob Zuma was booed and prevented from speaking on Monday, leading to a cancellation of all speeches. A sad spectacle which also saw some ANC members booed.

ANC General Secretary Blade Nzimande called the incident unfortunate and regrettable, adding it was unfortunate it overshadowed their actual motives.

“We are facing very serious challenges as a country and we are facing serious challenges as a movement. And I was going to call upon workers to take responsibility to contribute towards correcting this situation,” Blade Nzimande, South African Communist Party General Secretary said.

Cosatu, a key political ally of the African National Congress, last month called on Zuma to step down after a controversial ministerial reshuffle which saw finance minister sacked.

Zuma has become a focus of mounting public pressure due to some unpopular decisions lately.