EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu. Picture: Sabrina Dean/OFM
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) second-in-command Floyd Shivambu and Democratic Alliance (DA) federal chairperson Athol Trollip were sparring on Twitter on Thursday morning following Trollip accusing EFF leader Julius Malema and his party of “always flip-flopping”.
This after a Twitter user posted a video clip from back in 2011, in which Malema says no to a debate with then DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko, but said he would debate Helen Zille, who was leader of the party at the time.
This has come up again after Malema dismissed an invitation to tea with Zille as part of a new YouTube series which sees the former DA leader and Western Cape premier debate people she disagrees with over tea. Guests so far have been journalists Max du Preez, Peter Bruce and Ferial Haffajee and Wits chancellor Adam Habib.
“Always flip-flopping! That’s all that the EFF and it’s leader are really good at,” was Trollip’s response to the tweet which included the 2011 video clip.
He later added that he thought Malema is a “coward” for not accepting the debate invitation.
READ MORE: Malema asks Zille if she’s lost after she invites him on to her podcast
This was met with an angry response from Shivambu, who repeated Malema’s controversial words about “cutting the throat of whiteness”.
“The EFF is also good at ejecting racist mayors who are still hurt and will use every little opportunity to hit back. We are proud that we have cut the throat of whiteness and that’s not flip-flopping: it’s REAL,” Shivambu tweeted.
This is a reference to the EFF working with parties including the ANC and UDM to remove Trollip as mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay last year. This after the EFF was instrumental in getting him elected in the first place.
While explaining why the party had turned against Trollip, Malema said: “We are cutting the throat of whiteness.”
Rather than saying yes to Zille, who sent Malema a tweet inviting him to come “for a no-holds-barred discussion on South Africa’s future prospects”, Malema mocked Zille’s age in a tweet on Tuesday evening.
“I think you are lost, are you not looking for #Sassa [SA Social Security Agency] offices?” said Malema, in a reference to the fact that Zille has remained active on the sociopolitical scene despite being a few years past the retirement age of 60 or 65 for most employees in the South African workplace.
(Compiled by Daniel Friedman.)
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