Watch: South Africans react to Ramaphosa’s modest church offering

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Sunday campaign stop at a Khayelitsha church has given South Africans on X something to chew on.

The ANC leader visited the Salvation Church of the Revival of Faith at Mew Way Hall in Khayelitsha as part of the party’s door-to-door campaign push across Cape Town ahead of the 4 November municipal elections. A post claiming the president put R20 into the church’s offering basket during the service quickly made the rounds on X, racking up reactions ranging from mock outrage to genuine amusement.

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The jokes came thick and fast. One user, reckoned the president missed a trick entirely:* ‘He ain’t strategic, he was supposed to have circulated the offering basket himself!’ *Others saw the funny side without the bite. Shrugging it off simply: *‘Small or big, its still a donation.’ *

A fair number of commenters jumped to the president’s defence or at least offered some economic context. Another summed up a common sentiment:* ‘I dont blame him, things are tough in this Ramaphosa economy..’ *a jab at the cost of living as much as at the man himself.

One user took a more pointed defensive stance, reminding critics where the money came from (or rather, didn’t): ‘He didn’t use your tax money……relax.’ Meanwhile, one questioned why the amount mattered at all: ‘What’s fundamentally wrong with that? Aowa guys. Is giving at church status related?’

Take a peek at the moment

President Ramaphosa donated R20 only for church offering in Khayelitsha . Ankole https://t.co/dYrTWfI4ov

— Lolwethu (Law)7544 (@Law7544) October 18, 2026

A familiar campaign trail stop

Khayelitsha wasn’t a random pick. The church visit formed part of a packed weekend for the ANC president, who kicked off his Western Cape campaign swing in Athlone with door-to-door visits before heading to Khayelitsha for the Sunday service, followed by more door knocking and a public meeting at Monwabisi Park. Ramaphosa has used the weekend push to urge ANC supporters in areas like Khayelitsha, Langa and Mfuleni to turn out in bigger numbers, pointing to low voter turnout as a key reason the ANC keeps losing ground to the DA in the city.

Whether the offering basket story holds up to scrutiny or not, it’s already done what viral political moments do best in South Africa: given the timeline something to laugh about between the actual campaigning.

Worth noting: the R20 figure comes from a widely circulated post on X.

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Picture: Screenshot / X

The post Watch: South Africans react to Ramaphosa’s modest church offering appeared first on Cape Town ETC.