Sipho Pityana’s “real State of the Nation Address” was an insult to President Jacob Zuma, a former KwaZulu-Natal African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) leader said on Wednesday.

“These desperate moves by so-called ‘Save South Africa’, led by Pityana, are just a reckless and dangerous move that could provoke citizens of this country to defend the sovereignty of the republic,” Sifiso Sonjica said.

Sonjica came to Zuma’s defence shortly after Pityana finished addressing a gathering at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town on Wednesday. Speaker after speaker criticised Zuma and his administration.

Pityana told hundreds of people that Zuma had lost the trust of everyone in South Africa, including his own party. He was incapable of addressing reality in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament on Thursday.

“We are no longer confident in your leadership. You are not trusted by civil society. You are not trusted even by your own party,” Pityana said.

Sonjica said Pityana did not speak for members of the ANC and was not an ANC member. He was disturbed that Pityana was using churches and religious leaders as a platform to make derogatory statements about a democratically-elected government.

Pityana declined to respond to Sonjica's utterances.