Lu Lu Pieterson appears happy enough.
She lives in a government house on the outskirts of Soweto, raising healthy twins with whom she plays and dances.
But an intense rage burns in the 42-year old woman. Her brother Hector was shot and killed during the 1976 Soweto uprising. The iconic image of the dying 12-year old boy being carried through the streets of the township became a symbol of her people's struggle.
But Lu Lu says the African National Congress (ANC), the party which gave voice to the anti-apartheid movement has disrespected her brother's legacy telling SBS: "The highest office of the ANC they're looking after themselves and their relatives and their friends so that means if you're not connected from the ANC you will never get anything. They've done nothing, all they have done is looted that money for themselves - they did nothing for us!"
Changing political preferences
On election day, Lu Lu will vote for the Democratic Alliance. In Australia, the decision to change political preference could be the subject of dinner party banter. But for the sister of Hector Pieterson, the symbolism of abandoning the ANC is profound and she says supporting another party is a life-changing decision.
"Those are the people who killed Hector - I'm taking that matter back to them looking for the justice from them and it's a pain the ANC," she says.
A few streets away, South Africa's outgoing Deputy President campaigns in a ramshackle Soweto street. A sea of yellow-clad supporters sing and chant as Kgalema Motlanthe meets and greets residents. Many continue to support the party, but others question why, after 20 years of ANC rule services in the township are still unreliable, and in some cases non-existent.
Since 2002, Kholofeto Mathibeta has lived in a small but respecable government home in Soweto. But heavy rain causes it to flood and repeated requests for drainage to be repaired have fallen on deaf ears.
"They don't repair the streets so when it rains all this water is coming from the street to here so we are asking if they can fix this," she says.
While campaigning in the street, the Deputy President appeared to listen. He then handed Ms Mathibeta a yellow ANC t-shirt and moved on.
When he left, she told SBS she'll give the ANC one final chance.
"I will vote. If they don't fix these things I will never vote if they don't fix these things because there is no use."
Households divided
The shift away from overwhelming support in the townships is palpable.
Few households encapsulate the mood better than that of one-time freedom fighter 59-year-old Ntombi Dineka, and her 22-year old son, Vuyisile.
She says she resents President Zuma's decision to take multiple wives, but after years of activism, she simply can't abandon the party. When SBS visited, she explained to her son just what the struggle years involved.
"We were destroying schools we were destroying shops we were destroying everything that was under the government - we were burning houses.
"Because you been watching people die in front of you - guns all things like machine guns the police shooting people - that's why we had to fight back - even today we would be sufering if we didn't fight back," she says.
Despite his mother's powerful anecdotes, first time voter Vuyisile says he will vote for the Democratic Alliance.
"She may want me to vote for ANC but I'm not willing to vote ANC because I've never seen any changes."
And Ntombi accepts her son's decision, saying, "Yes, that's freedom - I can't force my son to do something he doesn't like - he has got his life he's free. It's a free country now."
Analysts predict the ANC will hold on to power, but it's clear that for some, patience is running thin and there's a limit to how long they'll tolerate corruption. Young voters question the party's relevance and long-time supporters like Lu Lu Pieterson have already jumped ship.
Lu Lu was five when her brother was gunned down by police. She remembers him vaguely but wants his legacy to outlast the party she once believed in passionately.
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