‘Ding dong the witch is dead’ tweet leaves SA fuming

A Twitter troll using the handle @Dakeb_MCFC referenced a song from the Wizard of Oz movie after the Wicked Witch of the West is slain to celebrate the passing of anti-apartheid icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

The late freedom fighter often divided opinion and continued to make enemies right up until the end, particularly among more conservative whites the world over but particularly in South Africa.

An engineer describing himself as a Manchester City fan living in England was one of the most immediate examples of just how strongly Madikizela-Mandela was alwatys disliked by some.

He wrote, quoting the Wizard of Oz song: “Ding dong the witch is dead. Good riddance to the evil.”

The tweet predictably saw an instant response, with certain Twitter users even going so far as to make death threats to the man.

He did get some support too, though, while some black users advised that black people should not expect white people to celebrate Mama Winnie as she was very obviously never on their side.

Dakeb defended his position by referencing the murder of Stompie Seipei and other alleged blots on Madikizela-Mandela’s record.

Dakeb denied that he was racist and claimed to have done “humanitarian work” in South Africa. Presumably, he is a South African, or a former citizen, because he said that he had voted in the referendum to emancipate blacks in the country in 1992.

Despite the avalanche of protest he received, he at one point even called her “an evil murdering bitch”.

Here are some of the angry responses his tweet has received: