No stopping the #notSenzosdad craze from sweeping across SA

FROM the sublime to the ridiculous. This is the only way to describe the #notSenzosdad craze sweeping across social networks in South Africa.

When Sam Meyiwa, father of slain soccer player Senzo, leaned out of his car, arms outstretched, to wave at the thousands of mourners at a memorial service for his son at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban last week, he had no idea of the snowball effect it would create.

Last week, Meyiwa implored South Africans to stop making fun of his pose, saying he had been overwhelmed by the sheer number of people attending the service.

But, to no avail.

If anything, recent days have seen more and more ordinary people uploading photographs of themselves in the same pose and using the hash tag #notsenzosdad to social media sites.

Nelson Mandela Bay residents have also taken to the trend with pictures of a posed teddy bear in a car, a student squashed between mattresses, another at a bus stop and many others finding their way online.

NMMU student Que Bangwa, who took a photo of himself wedged between two mattresses, tweeted: "Seeing Chips [Chippa United] win like this makes me hide [sic] myself but I cheer myself up by doing #notSenzosdad."

Khanyisa Sinqe, editor of Bay newspaper The Messenger, posed between two doors as she does not have a car.

Sinqe said while she was not sure why Meyiwa struck the pose she suspects he was simply overwhelmed at the time. - Yoliswa Sobuwa