Mbalula and Malema respond to Zindzi Mandela’s #OurLand tweets

Tweets from an account believed to be that of Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane under the hashtag #OurLand continue to divide Twitter into those outraged by them and those supportive of them, and have now seen a response from Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula, who in turn was responded to by EFF leader Julius Malema.

Mbalula responded to the tweet “Whilst I wine and dine here … wondering how the world of shivering land thieves is doing #OurLand” with “Ambassador hibambe qabane” along with the emoji of two hands placed together, meaning please or thank you [in this case it most likely means please].

This inspired EFF leader Julius Malema – who also RTed the “shivering land thieves” tweet – to ask Mbalula what he meant.

In response to Malema, Twitter users weighed in with their interpretation of Mbalula’s tweet.

Most seemed to view the tweet as meaning that Mbalula was asking Zindzi, who is South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark, to show more restrain in her tweets, with “hibambe” literally meaning “hold on”.

READ MORE: Zindzi Mandela lashes out at ‘trembling white cowards’ and ‘shivering land thieves’

This in turn inspired debate over whether Mbalula was right or wrong to call for this if indeed this was his intended meaning.

In support of the idea that Zindzi should consider her tweets more carefully, one user said “As a [government] diplomat, you don’t have freedom to be rowdy and radical on social media”.

“Fikile is trying to speak some sense into Zindzi said another user,” with another stating that “Some positions require some kind of conduct in public.”

Those who disagreed with Mbalula characterised him as a “sellout” and someone who “will never take a position”.

The account is not verified and attempts by The Citizen to contact Mandela-Hlongwane to establish if these are indeed her tweets have been unsuccessful so far, with the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) spokesperson Clayson Monyela saying they also had been unable to reach her.

The Citizen reported earlier on Saturday that Mandela-Hlongwane – if the account is indeed hers – had received a backlash but also support for a series of tweets with the hashtag #OurLand.

These included a tweet about “trembling white cowards” who are the “thieving rapist descendants of Van Riebeck [sic]” and one saying that she was “wondering how the world of shivering land thieves is doing” while out “wining and dining” at a restaurant.

UPDATE: This article was updated to reflect that Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane has not yet been reached and that whether or not it is her actual Twitter account has not been confirmed. 9:40, June 18. 

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)

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