Carl Niehaus and his girlfriend Benie | Image: Twitter
What started out as a simple birthday wish by Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) spokesperson Carl Niehaus to his girlfriend Benie quickly spiralled into a storm of abuse from various Twitter users and led to the ANC man having to defend his girlfriend’s honour.
On Friday, the 59-year-old Niehaus posted two images with the caption: “Happy birthday to my darling love.”
The snide remarks ranged from comments about her hair to their age difference, and Niehaus was not having any of it.
A few days earlier, Niehaus had posted an image of his 10-year-old daughter and this led to speculation about whether his girlfriend was also the mother of the child – a rather unlikely speculation Niehaus in any case denied.
It wasn’t all hate, however. Niehaus and his partner also received a number of well-wishes and messages of support from his followers.
Niehaus concluded by posting a screenshot describing the unusual generational make-up of French President Emmanuel Macron’s family, along with the caption: “Maybe we should be less judge-mental [sic], and more committed to happiness and caring for each other…”
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