“I’ve been quiet for a long time with all the nonsense you have done and said over the years. As from yesterday, I’m putting a stop to all this ****.”
This was the text a political activist, Tshepo Chempe allegedly received from a Facebook account that apparently belongs to the executive mayor, Kgotso Khumalo.
Chempe alleges that Khumalo threatened to end his (Chempe’s) life. Chempe claims he received the provocative inbox message towards the end of May and the start of June.
As a political activist, Chempe says he is obligated to voice his opinion when he believes fellow citizens are not being treated fairly. He says he had been doing so, even before Khumalo’s term in office, and would continue to do so.
During the lockdown, Chempe believes people deserved better service delivery, especially concerning food parcels. So, whenever he has had the opportunity to say something, he has voiced his concerns. This, he says, may have resulted in the alleged messages of intimidation.
In the texts, Khumalo allegedly speaks about Chempe’s family members, especially his late mother and two elder brothers who passed away more than 15 years ago. The messages suggest that Chempe would end up like them. “You have been bitter and angry for a long time, but what I do know is that you will die just like your mother and brothers”.
Another message, dated 1 June, reads as follows: “If you thought I don’t know about issue ya ga (of) Mike or his death will be in vain you are mistaken [sic].”
Mike Maimane was Kgotso Khumalo’s son. In 2017, the Herald published an article of his brutal murder in Extension 11.
Chempe firmly believes the messages are a form of emo- tional manipulation, as the two are said to be related.
He alleges that he and Khumalo share the same maternal grandmother.
However, Chempe says he still has to stick by his responsibilities as a political activist, even though they may be family.
Mandla Tawana, the mayoral spokesperson, denies the allegations, alleging that the mayor’s personal Facebook account has not been in use for a while. He added that they could not say whether or not it had been hacked, as no investigation has yet been conducted.
“If the source is related to the person of the executive mayor, we are still not in any position to respond, as we are not aware of any of the allegations raised.
“We wish to categorically state that we are not aware of the allegations raised as the source wasn’t mention of which we fail to respond to something we not aware if it exist or not [sic],” said Tawana.
He says the form of online communication that Kgotso Khumalo uses is through the official Facebook pages titled, ‘Office of the Executive Mayor JB Marks Municipality’ and ‘JB Marks Municipality’. “Both the Facebook pages in use are administered by Mr William Maphosa, the municipal spokes-person and Mr Mandla Tawana, the executive mayor’s spokesperson.
“In the past few weeks, we have reiterated that we wish members of the community to take part in our official Facebook pages for the institution to be able to respond to the frustrations they face daily,” Tawana said.
