US reporter finally knows the 'unidentified leader' is Ramaphosa
Darlene Superville tweeted an image of some leaders at the G7 summit in France, calling President Cyril Ramaphosa an "unidentified leader".
JOHANNESBURG - The Associated Press, a news agency from the United States, sent their White House correspondent to track their president's trip to Biarritz, France. The journalist, Darlene Superville, didn't know who President Cyril Ramaphosa was - and tweeted so. But it seems she's finally found out who our leader is.
The G7 Summit is an informal meeting of the world's seven richest and most developed countries - the United States, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. During this time, leaders discuss all kinds of issues, from trade wars to climate crisis problems.
This year's summit host, French President Emmanuel Macron, invited the heads of five African states, including President Ramaphosa. The other four were Senegal President Macky Sall, Burkina Faso head Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, Rwanda President Paul Kagame and Egypt leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and each country was invited to bring issues they have on the continent and in their respective countries. Others also invited was Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro and India's Narendra Modhi.
Late on Sunday evening, Superville, who according to her LinkedIn profile has worked as the AP's White House reporter for six years, tweeted a picture of Ramaphosa with some of his colleagues, and referred to him as "one unidentified leader". Naturally, South Africans were livid.
World leader bear hug before the group photo @ #G7Summit in Biarritz, France. @EmmanuelMacron @narendramodi @JustinTrudeau and one unidentified leader. pic.twitter.com/Ij9PsYrV2j
— darlene superville (@dsupervilleap) August 25, 2019
Superville didn't stop there. She went as far as to tweet a picture where Ramaphosa is present again, but this time with him hidden by Modi.
More world leader chumminess in Biarritz, France. @EmmanuelMacron Germany’s Angela Merkel, @narendramodi @JustinTrudeau and one leader hidden by Modi. pic.twitter.com/HgsSaNF4hA
— darlene superville (@dsupervilleap) August 25, 2019
After eighteen hours of tweet responses to her initial mistake, Superville fixed it, tweeting the two pictures again and tagging Ramaphosa on the image.
World leader group hug before the group photo at #G7Summit in Biarritz, France. @EmmanuelMacron @CyrilRamaphosa @JustinTrudeau @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/GtgyiE3Rtf
— darlene superville (@dsupervilleap) August 26, 2019
More world leader chumminess in Biarritz, France. @EmmanuelMacron @CyrilRamaphosa @JustinTrudeau @narendramodi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. pic.twitter.com/YzqKSgq412
— darlene superville (@dsupervilleap) August 26, 2019
The Guardian wrote on Saturday about how the "French seaside resort of Biarritz is under lockdown by security forces ahead of the G7 summit, with more than 13,000 police as well as a special magistrates court set up to try anyone committing offences". Tourists were asked to leave the town by Friday, and entrances and exits were sealed off to prevent security breaches and protests.
So how random could our leader have been at the G7 Summit? Only Superville can explain but will she apologise?
