Pop culture 101: Knowing the history behind the president’s ‘Cupcake’ nickname

by Nomonde Simelane

Besides his birth-given name Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, our president has been affectionately dubbed as ‘Cupcake’ by the South African public. However, have you stopped to ask yourself where this affectionate nickname stems from?

In line with their global reputation of marching to the beat of their own drums,  South African citizens woke up one day and decided that the president would be affectionately and playfully referred to as Cupcake therein onwards, and so it was.

It has come to our attention that despite this nickname becoming a national sensation, some of you are still in the dark about the origins of our leader’s alias.

Well, everything dates back to the year 2017, when Mr Cyril was still South Africa’s deputy president. Just when things was going well, disaster struck the then president’s righthand man as he was hit with an unexpected scandal involving his infidelity, which he credited to his opponents leading a smear campaign aiming to tarnish his reputation.

Despite claims of multiple affairs over the span of a few years, Cyril admitted to only one affair and revealed that he and his wife had dealt with the matter privately. “I had a relationship with only one person and it ended.

“I dealt with it with my wife,” Cyril told the Sunday Times.  A leaked email between Mr Cyril and the alleged mistress was what caused the chaos and commotion, as Cyril reportedly referred to her as ‘Cupcake’, which has become his widely accepted nickname.

It appears that a significant demographic had no idea why and how our president gained his nickname, despite also referring to him with the name.

Furthermore, mzansi users have come to a consensus that the questionable history of this nickname is better off being our best-kept secret, to preserve our president and the country’s reputation.

Also see: Gareth Cliff finds himself on the wrong side of history… again – ‘Move on from apartheid’