Zindzi Mandela on Thabo Mbeki's call for action to be taken against her: 'Interesting'

“Interesting.”

That is what SA’s ambassador to Denmark Zindzi Mandela had to say about former president Thabo Mbeki calling for action to be taken against her for her tweets on the land debate.

Mbeki told the Sunday Tribune he wants government to investigate whether Mandela’s tweets are consistent with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s message on the issue.

“There’s no ambassador who represents themselves and if Zindzi Mandela’s tweets are inconsistent with what the president is saying, then that cannot be allowed. The president, I know, has been very insistent on this, that land reform must be done on a constitutional and legal basis and such amendments of the constitution are to clarify the circumstances in which you would expropriate land without compensation,” Mbeki told the newspaper in Durban, where he attended a Unisa graduation ceremony.

On June 14, Mandela created a stir on social media after her “apartheid apologists” and “land thieves” tweets went viral. 

Mandela was heavily criticised for her potentially "divisive" comments. The DA and AfriForum called for her to be recalled, while the EFF defended her.

Meanwhile, Rapport reported on Sunday that Mandela’s term as ambassador expires at the end of June and she probably already knows she will not be considered for another term. 

“That is why she was so reckless with her comments on Twitter last week,” a former ambassador, who was not named, told the Afrikaans Sunday newspaper.

International relations and cooperation minister Naledi Pandor confirmed to Rapport that Mandela's term in Denmark will expire soon.