Dear Editor
I write in response to an article by Nyambeni Mandiwana in the Capricorn Voice of 17 – 23 June 2015, titled “This is a NO GO area”.
The article talks about an incident where an unruly member of the EFF attempted to disrupt a television interview scheduled for DA Leader Mmusi Maimane. This was at the end of Maimane’s Freedom, Fairness and Opportunity tour in the Disteneng area where the Polokwane Municipality had been carrying out violent evictions, leaving scores of families homeless and out in the cold.
To our surprise, at the end of the tour, a young fellow tried to disrupt the interview, arguing he could not allow the DA in EFF territory. The visibly intoxicated fellow hurled insults at the DA entourage but nevertheless failed to disrupt us, largely because Maimane and the entourage were just about to leave Disteneng.
However, what is more disturbing and deserving of much harsh condemnation, is the provincial secretary of the EFF, Jossie Buthane’s reaction in the media, coming out in defense of the hooligan and even supporting his claim of an “EFF territory”. Embarrassingly, the EFF MPL was quoted in the paper as saying “it was true that Disteneng was their territory, nor the DA or ANC were allowed there. No one is allowed to go and play in our area, including Maimane with his blue T-shirt. The ANC destroyed shacks, took the people’s property and left them in the cold, with nothing. When this happened, where was DA? Dwellers were shot with rubber bullets, treated like animals. We went there and brought them food and blankets. The EFF is always there for the poor people of Disteneng. Mmusi in his blue outfit can never address them,”
It is shocking and embarrassing that Mr Buthane goes on record peddling such untruths. Or perhaps he is just too ignorant and forgetful that his EFF does not have a single seat in any municipality of Limpopo. Mr Buthane must be told here and now that the DA has been exposing the plight of the residents at Disteneng for a period longer than his stay at the EFF – let alone the entire life of the party. We have opened cases at the Human Rights Commission and also assisted the community to get the attention of the municipality on various issues and many other important interventions that should not have passed Mr Buthane if these people are so important to him as a leader. But one could easily forgive him for not knowing that the DA actually has a strong network of activists.
The DA has been actively involved in the area for a number of years and has assisted the community, I wonder what he tells the youth of the EFF if he can mislead people openly like that. He is an MPL. This man should know that the constitution of this country allows anyone to move everywhere for political campaigns. Next time you need to speak on media platforms, please ensure that you have the facts. Do not mislead people deliberately. You honestly cannot expect any kudos from sober members of your party after such reckless and misleading information on the front cover of a provincial paper.
With his conduct, Mr Buthane assumes the people of Disteneng to be voting fodder who can be prescribed who to vote for by an intoxicated individual. The violent conduct of the so called EFF representatives at Disteneng is also worrying. Their conduct amounts to electoral fraud and the DA calls on the public to stand up against hooligans, regardless of which party they purport to represent. Violence and bullying has no role in our electoral processes and in our democracy in general.
Stephen Mbedzi is the media officer for DA Limpopo.
