BLF leadership give a pre-elections media briefing. Picture: Twitter (@BLF_SouthAfrica)
Following an alleged challenge by Black First Land First’s suspended secretary-general to the party’s founder to provide proof of his membership before participating in further activities, the party has issued a statement claiming that their official account was hacked.
“An unauthorised statement was published this morning via that account. The hackers still have access to the account and appropriate steps are currently being taken to correct this situation,” read part of the statement.
This is in reference to a statement purporting to have been issued by Siphesihle Jele in which he lashed out at Mngxitama for allegedly accusing him of using the party’s database to form his union, and suspending him as a result.
“The statement published through the account purports to be from the suspended secretary-general of BLF, who is facing numerous serious charges by the movement. He has even been granted an extension of time by the disciplinary committee to respond to the charges against him,” said the BLF.
“There is obviously no truth in the silly allegation that the president of BLF is not a member of a movement he leads. The president’s membership is valid until 2020. The Central Committee (CC) and National Coordinating Committee (NCC) have full confidence in the President of BLF,” they added.
The party claims to have hired Jele “just over a year ago after he was fired by the First National Bank”.
“BLF provided support for his plight and embraced him at the most difficult time in his life.”
The party concluded by stating that they were on a post-election cleanup drive and likened Jele to dead wood who would “naturally resist any rectification and cleaning up process”.
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