Here’s what Mzansi thinks of the EFF’s R1.8m gift to AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo

15 November 2021 - 10:00
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EFF leader Julius Malema meeting AbaThembu king Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo in Nkululekweni.
EFF leader Julius Malema meeting AbaThembu king Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo in Nkululekweni.
Image: Ziyanda Zweni

Opinions are split online over the EFF’s gift to AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo.

A Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe SUV, worth around R1.8m, was handed to Dalindyebo by EFF leader Julius Malema at the monarch’s Nkululekweni private residence in Mthatha over the weekend. 

Malema said the car was not a bribe but a gift to their “hero”. 

“King Dalindyebo is our hero,” said Malema. 

“We are not here to bribe the king. We were with him in prison. When the king engaged in a hunger strike, we were the ones who convinced him to eat.

“You can’t go to a chief empty-handed and when you give a king anything (cattle or food), you are necessarily feeding his nation.”

The gift comes after Dalindyebo called on all AbaThembu to vote for the EFF in the local government elections, held earlier this month, to “teach the ANC a lesson”. 

Speaking to the media about the gift, Dalindyebo said “it has wiped all the tears from the past. 

“I feel like a brand new king, I feel like the best person in the world. I feel like the best husband to my wife. Everything that has happened to me, it has wiped all the tears from the past. I am so happy.”  

The king slammed bribery speculation, saying it was surprising speculation was only voiced when the gift came from the EFF.

“I got gifts of vehicles from [former president Nelson] Mandela while he was president of the ANC and from Patrice Motsepe. Motsepe is ANC. Would you say that was bribery? No. Why is a donation from the EFF called bribery?” he asked.

On social media many shared their views about the gift, with some asking if the EFF would do the same for its other voters


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