EFF accused by BLF of not ‘fighting against’ Oppenheimers like they are

Black First Land First (BLF) released a statement announcing their intention to lay charges of “fraud, bribery, and corruption” against Nicky and Jonathan Oppenheimer following the revelation that an Oppenheimer family company, Fireblade Aviation, has been running a private terminal at OR Tambo airport.

This led to BLF leader Andile Mngxitama being forcefully removed from parliament after shouting “shut down Fireblade” and accusing the Oppenheimers of capturing the ANC.

“This family is a criminal family. You are allowing them to lie to you. Nicky and his father went to the ANC (African National Congress). They captured the ANC,” he shouted.

In the statement, BLF says it is “evident that what is supposed to be a strictly government regulated process had been sidestepped by the Oppenheimers when they approached the ANC to secure a dodgy deal instead”. The full statement can be read here.

READ MORE: Oppenheimers defend private terminal at OR Tambo airport

Nicky Oppenheimer told parliament on Tuesday that Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba had approved the private terminal. In March, the High Court in Pretoria ruled that Gigaba had lied under oath when he had claimed that he had never given approval. The same court had allowed the terminal to open in 2017. The Constitutional Court, later in March, denied Gigaba leave to appeal the decision.

Since the statement’s release, BLF deputy president Zanele Lwana has accused the EFF of being “nowhere to be seen” when the Oppenheimers were in parliament, and of sending a “lone low-ranking MP” who failed to confront the “powerful duo” who she describes as “the ultimate representative[s] of white monopoly capital (WMC)”.

Lwana also accuses EFF leader Julius Malema of being “so distressed and terrified of the Oppenheimers coming to parliament that he ended up taking comfort in the bottle”.

This may be a reference to a video of a seemingly drunk Malema that went viral this week. The EFF commander-in-chief famously gave up alcohol a few years ago while adopting a healthier lifestyle that saw him lose weight and get fit, a move he said at the time was inspired by his wife.

It seems that top members of BLF are not the only ones who have questioned the EFF’s silence when it comes to the Oppenheimers, with others on social media expressing a similar opinion.

While some have simply questioned the silence of the EFF over the issue, some have gone a step further, accusing the EFF of “working for” the Oppenheimers and the Ruperts, another family often cited as being representatives of WMC.

Some have expressed the view that the private terminal operated for the Oppenheimers represents another form of “state capture” – referencing the term widely used to describe the alleged influence over the government and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and corruption perpetuated by the controversial Gupta family.

READ NEXT: Oppenheimers get Concourt victory over Gigaba

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