Mense on the Cape Flats are baffled after receiving phone calls from Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
But it quickly becomes clear that the friendly voice on the other side is a pre-recorded message, encouraging people to pray for the country and to vote.
People have taken to Facebook to talk about their one-sided conversation with the Arch.
Many said after realising it’s a recording, they cut off Tutu mid-sentence. The calls all originate from one number.
Tutu talks about the youth, the scourge of drugs and gangsterism on the Cape Flats, child abductions and mentions Mayor Patricia de Lille.
Hajiera Sabera wrote on Facebook: “I also got a recording phone call this morning, ek het net ’n bietjie geluister. Dit praat van gang-infested areas and kinder ontvoerings toe druk ek die phone af. To hell with them.”
Ridwaan Saban reckons it’s a political ploy in the run-up to the August 3 polls.
Fatima Jacobs quipped: “I’m waiting for (EFF leader Julius) Malema to call me.”
The Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation referred media queries to the Democratic Alliance.
The DA’s Anneke Scheepers said it was not a party political call, nor an endorsement of the DA.
“It’s simply a recording of Archbishop Tutu talking about the City and Mayor at an interfaith service,” Scheepers said.
She could not confirm whether the call was made by the DA or another organisation.