Shut up, Malema! – Arthur Mafokate

Kwaito legend Arthur Mafokate over the weekend lashed out at EFF leader Julius Malema, telling him to “shut up” and focus on elections.

On Thursday, Malema slammed Mafokate and singer Kelly Khumalo, calling them “useless‚ expired artists”, TimesLive reported.

“We have seen [the ANC] spend a billion rand on fake celebrities‚ extremely fake celebrities who can’t succeed in their own right.

“As I speak‚ I’m trying to think what is Kelly Khumalo’s hit … what is she known for? But she is pocketing between R10 000 and R15 000 for every appearance she makes at an ANC event‚” Malema was quoted as saying by the website.

Mafokate has, however, hit back, saying name-calling is for the “intellectually- challenged” and that Malema should keep up with music trends before commenting, Sunday World reports.

“Last year Kelly and I had a hit song called Nguye Lo, which trended until this year. 999 Music won three Metro awards this year, including my Lifetime award. I just dropped Habaswe a week ago and it has been trending. Maybe ‘expired’ has a different meaning to him,” Mafokate told the Sunday tabloid.

Mafokate further told the paper he had not made a cent from ANC campaigns, though he had performed at almost all its campaigns, including the birthday bash.

He said the party never booked him, but he availed himself to support the ANC through his music.

Mafokate is not the only artist who has claimed that the ANC does not pay him for his services. Reality TV star Dineo Ranaka and AKA have come forward with the same claims.

Last week, a fan asked Ranaka on Instagram if she got paid for the services she offered the ANC. She responded to the fan, saying she offered her services for free, the same way people did at their churches.

Though AKA did not deny getting paid for the campaigns, he said he made more money from his shows than he did campaigning for the ruling party. He said his services were not motivated by money either.

This year, many celebrities made a point of showing their support for the ruling party, sharing pictures on social media of themselves in ANC regalia, and using the hashtag #Asinavalo.