Mbalula accused of gaslighting South African women after twar with Babes and Boity

Minister of transport and avid social media user Fikile Mbalula has been accused of gaslighting South African women after the responses he has made to musician Babes Wodumo and media personality Boity Thulo in two separate engagements on gender-based violence and femicide.

Thulo sent a strongly-worded tweet to the official government and presidency accounts lambasting them for the state of affairs with regards to the safety of women and children in the country.

Thulo also accused the government of supporting and protecting rapists, abusers, and murderers.

In a since-deleted tweet, Mbalula stated that “women must not succumb [to]/tolerate abuse,” in addition to calling Thulo’s accusation of the government a “drunken stupor”.

Mbalula deleted the tweet after a few other Twitter users asked him to as the response was placing the onus of abuse on victims of domestic violence and would thus not have been well received.

In addition, Mbalula was also criticised for his response to a tweet from Babes Wodumo in which she called him an idiot.

He responded by asking her to “keep quiet” because her abuse at the hands of her boyfriend Mandla “Mampintsha” Maphumulo made her “a typical example of what [he is] talking about”.

READ NEXT: Ramaphosa finally responds to #DearMrPresident hashtag

(Compiled by Kaunda Selisho)