Four times Zindzi Mandela's 'our land' views have been criticised

Two weeks after South Africa's ambassador to Denmark, Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane's, series of tweets on land caused a social media storm, opinions for and against her views continue to trickle in.

On Sunday, former president Thabo Mbeki told IOL that the ANC needs to investigate if Mandela-Hlongwane's views on the land issue are in sync with President Ramaphosa's.

The Thabo Mbeki foundation on Monday night released a statement denying it had called for action to be taken against Mandela-Hlongwane. 

Here are three prominent groups or individuals who have spoken out against Mandela-Hlongwane:

AfriForum

Unconstitutional, divisive and rancorous - these are some of the words used by lobby group AfriForum's deputy CEO Alana Bailey to describe Mandela-Hlongwane's "our land" tweets.

In a statement calling for the ambassador to be fired, Bailey questioned Mandela-Hlongwane's motive behind the tweets and lamented the damage caused to the country's reputation. 

Fikile Mbalula

High-ranking ANC politician and transport minister Fikile Mbalula joined the Twitter fray by commenting on one of the tweets, calling Mandela-Hlongwane to order by saying, "Ambassador, hibambe qabane" - which loosely means "hold it right there".

Many, including Julius Malema, soon questioned why Mbalula was calling Mandela-Hlongwane to order. 

DA

The official opposition called for the dismissal of Mandela-Hlongwane as the country's ambassador to Denmark on the basis that her views were divisive.

The party further criticised the department of international relations and co-operation for its "failure" to contact her to confirm the authenticity of the tweets. However, Dirco minister Naledi Pandor later confirmed during an interview with Radio 702 that she had discussed the issue with the ambassador. 

Mandela-Hlongwane did garner major support from some members of the public, as well as the EFF. 

The party said Mandela-Hlongwane must be protected for advocating for the correction of colonial-era land dispossession, which Mbeki had failed to do as president.