EFF’s Ndlozi ripped to shreds for saying Buthelezi deserved Nobel peace prize

EFF spokesperson Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi has been taking continual fire on Twitter since his birthday wish to IFP leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, in which he suggested the Zulu firebrand was more deserving of a Nobel peace prize than FW de Klerk.

On Monday, he also shared a photo of himself with Buthelezi, who turned 90 this week.

Since then, many on Twitter have shared their view that Ndlozi’s sentiments are misinformed and ignorant of history, with them taking the historical position that the IFP was deeply engaged in a low-level civil war with, in particular but not exclusively, members of the ANC, and was not willing to helpfully engage at the negotiating table ahead of the 1994 elections.

It was only a last-minute concession on Zulu tribal land that resulted in the Ingonyama Trust that saw the IFP agree to be on the ballot paper for the first democratic elections.

KwaZulu-Natal was particularly hard-hit by violence, while hostels in Gauteng, especially on the East Rand, were hotbeds of murderous clashes, often led by senior members of the IFP.

Many were quick to mention the massacres of Boipatong and Thokoza, and the bloodshed in Kagiso and Vosloorus.

Buthelezi has also long stood accused of having collaborated with the apartheid government.

Many comments suggested unhappiness with Ndlozi, with the general consensus being that Ndlozi may be “too young” to remember what was going on. It is difficult to find anyone on social media daring to defend the EFF’s spokesperson, who, for the moment isn’t the “People’s Bae”, it seems.

Ndlozi responded on Wednesday by standing by his tweet and claiming that black people were engaging in self-negation by overlooking his point that he considered De Klerk a “worse killer” than Buthelezi. He claimed that Buthelezi had indeed played a role in ushering in peace.

Ndlozi continued to remain a talking point throughout the week, with one person even blaming the young academic’s education at Wits University.