Thembeka Dliwako, 21, from Tamboville in Pietermaritzburg, made media waves after being spotted at several election campaign rallies. Dliwako attended every rally she could get to before deciding who deserved her vote. | Supplied
Durban — Long after the results of the 2024 elections are known, one woman from Pietermaritzburg will look back on them as one of the most significant periods of her life.
Thembeka Dliwako, 21, from Tamboville in Pietermaritzburg, has been a media sensation since the beginning of the campaign season in January.
Dliwako was spotted at several parties’ rallies, earning her the “Queen of Rallies” tag. When asked at the time why she had attended the rallies, Dliwako said she was determined to get first-hand information on what the parties had to offer before deciding who would deserve her vote.
She added that apart from catching the vibe associated with large gatherings at stadiums, she had sought to hear what each of the political parties’ leaders had to say and where they stood on a number of issues.
As the campaign season drew to an end, and after careful consideration, Dliwako knew which party her vote would go to.
She cited the manner in which the leadership of ActionSA had conducted itself throughout the campaign as the main reason she had chosen the party ahead of the others.
“They spoke on matters that really mattered to me, from local economic development to ensuring quality education. I was sold on what they stand for,” she said.
Dliwako said she had seen party leadership providing aid to vulnerable people across the province, with assistance varying from supplying groceries to wheelchairs.
“Those were the pointers of the sort of leaders needed as public representatives and that is why, in the end, I chose them and have no regrets over the choice I made,” she said.
Dliwako hoped her actions would encourage more young people to participate in politics.
She described how she felt when she voted for the first time.
“I voted at Steadville Primary School in Ladysmith, and it was a great feeling to cast my vote knowing that my action would impact on the government that we get in the province. It gave me a sense of satisfaction knowing that I had acted like a responsible citizen,” she said.
Dliwako added that she would always remember 2024 as a year that brought significant changes to her life.
“I look back and think how, in December last year, life was just normal for me. Then, in a couple of weeks of attending a number of events, I became a ‘household name’, all because I was curious about what political parties had to offer to me as an ordinary citizen.”
Dliwako is now regularly invited to be a programme director at events or a motivational speaker, something she is convinced would not have happened had she not attended that first election manifesto rally of the EFF at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban in January.
Independent on Saturday