"Today is a show of force, because all political parties have come together to send one message. Zuma must leave office. The sooner he leaves the better because this country must recover economically. Because we love South Africa, today we are going to march hand in hand with all political parties," head of the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party Julius Malema said as quoted by South Africa's IOL news outlet.
The EFF party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and smaller opposition parties are taking part in the rally in Pretoria, expected to have gathered around 10,000 people, according to media reports.
South Africa's opposition has repeatedly criticized the policy of Zuma, as well as his alleged involvement in corruption schemes. In November 2016, the DA party sent a request to initiate criminal proceedings against Zuma on suspicion of corruption. Later that month, the parliament failed to pass a vote of no-confidence regarding Zuma, the results of which were 214 votes against and 126 in favor.
Earlier in April, the DA organized mass protests in Johannesburg against Zuma following a reshuffle of the government, which led to the dismissal of several popular ministers, including Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. At the same time a rival rally was organized in the city by the Youth League of the African National Congress (ANC) party.
