Five 1 April jokes that had us fooled (almost)

april zuma

On Tuesday evening, we all knew to be on high alert for the usual April Fools’ jokes doing the rounds. But come Wednesday morning, and we had to admit that some of them almost got us! From Zuma paying back the money, to the Proteas getting a second chance in the cricket World Cup, THE DAILY VOX TEAM rounds up the best of April Fools Day 2015.

1. Mac Maharaj pranks EWN
Earlier today the presidency released a statement announcing three new appointments to President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet: “Charles Nqakula had been appointed Minister of Roads and Traffic, Essop Pahad Minister in the presidency responsible for public participation and interface; and Zizi Kodwa Deputy Minister for Social Cohesion and Nation Building.”

When Eyewitness News contacted spokesperson for the Presidency Mac Maharaj, he confirmed the news. But, as we’ve said before, Maharaj is on top of his game, and it turns out the “news” was just Mac interfacing with the public on April Fools Day. Sure, he may have missed the traditional 12 noon cut-off time, but we’ll forgive him – revealing that the Presidency has a sense of humour is priceless.

2. Trevor Noah loses his Daily Show contract
Many people may have thought that April Fools had come early when South Africa’s Trevor Noah was announced as the new host of The Daily Show on Monday. Comedy Central wasn’t kidding, but the ensuing backlash has been no joke. That’s why local website Now almost had us when it announced that Noah had lost his Daily Show contract owing to a few misguided tweets.

3. Zwelinzima Vavi joins the EFF
Since he was expelled from Cosatu on Monday, former general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is out of a job. According to The Daily Maverick, Vavi was snapped up by the EFF as its interim head, while commander-in-chief Julius Malema stepped down to sort out his tax problems. “We are a Marxist-Leninist Fanonian party,” Malema stated. “And Vavi has read almost all of those books.” Lol!

4. Zuma to pay back the money
City Press reported this morning that President Jacob Zuma would pay back the money used to upgrade his Nkandla homestead. Mac Maharaj said that Zuma decided it was “the right thing to do” and that the money would be made available by next month. However, he did not indicate if the money would be paid back in cash, via EFT, or through the Shoprite money market facility. If only it were true!

5. Proteas recalled to replay cricket World Cup semi-final
It was the best of April Fools; it was the worst of April Fools. If the SABC is to be believed, the International Cricket Council announced this morning that the final and semi-final matches of the cricket World Cup had been nullified, owing to “umpiring errors, unreliability of the Umpire Decision Review System, and government interference in certain team selections”, and would be replayed. We really wanted to believe that the Proteas were getting a second stab at achieving cricket World Cup glory and this story simply broke our hearts. No fair, guys, this one was just mean!

– Featured image: By Nathi Ngubane.