Family at war over 'askari' Tshwete's defection to the DA

07 February 2016 - 02:04 By BABALO NDENZE

The defection of ANC stalwart Steve Tshwete's eldest son, Lindela, has sparked a family Facebook fracas. When his brother Mayihlome labelled him a sellout, Lindela's daughter Chulumanco Tshwete took to her uncle's Facebook wall, accusing the spin doctor and his mother, deputy minister of water and sanitation Pam Tshwete, of ignoring the plight of her unemployed father despite holding influential positions in government."You know where you are with your mother [Pam Tshwete] that the ANC did nothing for my father but managed to do something for you. Stop being selfish for once in your life and know that my father has a family to take care of," she wrote.story_article_left1Last week, Mayihlome and his mother said they were aware of Lindela's financial situation.Mayihlome said Lindela had sent him a text message last year informing him of his plans to join the DA.Unemployed since 2010, Lindela has been accused of joining the DA solely for financial reasons.In an article in the Rand Daily Mail this week, Mayihlome called Lindela a political turncoat, likening him to an askari, a label applied to black South Africans who were either spies for or operatives of the apartheid government.Mayihlome said Lindela could not claim to be continuing "comrade Steve's principles within the very party which defends, unashamedly, minority white privilege".Speaking to the Sunday Times this week, Lindela said: "What is surprising is that he's painting our father as a black consciousness or PAC person, when in fact he fought for a national democracy not based on colour."..

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