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Dali Mpofu backs Carl Niehaus’ claims that he is an MK veteran
After the veterans verification panel found that Carl Niehaus never really 'trained' as freedom fighter, Dali Mpofu defended him.
Dali Mpofu and Carl Niehaus reminiscence about a case in the 1980s the two were involved in. Picture: Screengrab
Advocate Dali Mpofu has cleared the air after his tweet on Friday caused confusion amongst neticitizens.
This is after the veterans verification panel chaired by retired General Enoch Mashoala, confirmed to The Citizen that Carl Niehaus failed the verification test on Monday in East London, Eastern Cape.
Niehaus apparently never really trained as a freedom fighter in the ANC’s Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) military wing, despite having served time as a political prisoner.
READ NEXT: Carl the toy soldier? Niehaus fails Umkhonto we Sizwe credentials test
Clearly addressing the report, Mpofu tweeted: “My law firm represented @niehaus_carl in the 80s as a political prisoner who had operated in the ANC [and] Umkhonto Wesizwe underground like many of us.
“He was jailed for engaging in active combat unlike many who apparently “qualify” as MK veterans purely for having been “trained”!”
Commentators quickly pointed out that Mpofu was a university student during the 80s and questioned how he could have had a law firm in that time frame. But Niehaus thanked Mpofu “for countering malicious lies, and putting the record straight”.
He said Mpofu was an article clerk at Raymond Tucker‘s law firm and worked with his then attorney Kathy Satchwell, now Judge Satchwell, on his ‘high treason’ case.
Niehaus shared a clip of the two reminiscing about this case and how Mpofu was part of the legal team that represented him during the 1980s.
Niehaus informs the people in the room, which included suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, that Mpofu “helped me escape prison.”
Mpofu explains: “We had this plan, I bring a pen to his cell, I am an article clerk [during this time]. So I go there, I have this pen and as I am consulting, he has a pen as well.
“So he put the pen down, so when we finish the consultation, I tack his pen, he takes my pen.” Mpofu’s say Niehaus’s pen was stuffed with “a lot of stuff” he had to take to a union.
“This was supposed to be the great escape, it never happened,” he said in a joking manner.
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Many people question the veracity of claims, Mpofu responded on Saturday.
Niehaus has continued to deny the veteran’s verification panel findings, posting a lengthy rebuttal on his YouTube channel.
“I am a liberation soldier and MK veteran,” he reiterated.
