Let people express joy over the Springboks, Zakes Mda tells Ndlozi

Acclaimed author Zakes Mda and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi had an argument on Twitter in the early hours of Wednesday morning, although Mda clarified that what transpired was “a discussion, not a twar”.

The “discussion” began with a tweet from Mda reacting to a video posted by celebrity Maps Maponyane of the many supporters gathered to greet the Springboks on Tuesday evening, on their return from Japan after winning the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Mda expressed the view that those who attended were not fools, and while people are “free to pee on their parade”, they will “rejoice nevertheless”.

This may have been a reaction to those who have expressed negativity over the World Cup win, of which Ndlozi is one of the most prominent examples. The EFF spokesperson came under fire for a tweet in which he congratulated Springboks captain Siya Kolisi but told the rest of the team to “go get your congratulations from Prince Harry”. He subsequently doubled down in a series of tweets expressing the view that win was not a victory for racial unity.

Ndlozi appeared to think Mda’s tweet was aimed at him, as he responded.

“In the 1850s, a prophet existed who initiated a big spiritual movement that led people to kill their cattle. Cut story short: over 40k people died of starvation due to her prophecies. The people were not stupid, they just followed a FALSE prophet,” he tweeted.

“Sounds familiar? FALSE DREAMS!”

READ MORE: Malema agrees with Ndlozi refusing to take ‘sleeping tablets of rugby euphoria’

Nda countered that celebrating the rugby win didn’t necessarily mean one expected “miracles” about the end of inequality.

“I, for one, don’t share any false dream. It was a rugby tournament that SA won and people, some of whom I know for sure are your voters, are happy [and] celebrate. They’re smart people who don’t expect any miracles from their jubilation and are aware that inequalities will continue,” he tweeted.

In another tweet, Mda challenged Ndlozi’s reference to the Xhosa prophet Nongqawuse.

“As for Nongqawuse, I researched that history [and] wrote a book on it. It was more complex than that. There were Believers [and] Unbelievers [and] a civil war broke among the amaGcaleka people as a result. Many were forced to kill their cattle though they didn’t believe in the prophecies,” he wrote.

The author’s last tweet on the subject of rugby spoke of how the Springboks win had inspired his grandson, who was a “great” rugby player.

“My grandson Mhlontlo (Neo’s son) plays rugby for his school and is great. He believes one day he’ll be a Springbok (or whatever the team will be called then.) He finds the [Rugby World Cup] winning team and their captain an inspiration. Now he sees that his is not an impossible dream.”

The full back-and-forth between the pair can be read below:

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)

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