Nene’s gone, now you’re next, Malema hints at Nzimande

With former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene now replaced by Tito Mboweni following his resignation, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), who had previously campaigned for Nene’s removal, are now seemingly setting their sights on minister of transport and SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande.

At a press conference at EFF headquarters in Braamfontein on Tuesday, EFF leader Julius Malema made it clear that he would be watching Nzimande’s upcoming testimony at the commission of inquiry into state capture carefully. The minister will be in the hot seat at deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo’s commission in November.

“Let Blade Nzimande go to the commission and answer truthfully. That’s what we said to Nhlanhla Nene,” said Malema.

READ MORE: Malema blames Gordhan, Treasury for VBS ‘witch-hunt’

Nzimande emerged as one of the fiercest critics of the Guptas in the ANC, calling the controversial family “parasites” in 2016 and “toxic” in 2017.

But the minister has since been accused of receiving an undisclosed R1.5 million from the Guptas, something he has vehemently denied after the SACP confirmed that Independent News and Media mentioned the sum in a list of questions sent to him on his link to the Guptas.

The questions sent to Nzimande also apparently address allegations that he had been to the Gupta’s Saxonwold compound on at least four occasions.

EFF says Nzimande must tell the truth or he’ll end up like Nene

Details: https://t.co/xZrbOSKHB9 pic.twitter.com/z5uSAevyDH

— The Daily Post (@TheDailyPostSA) October 18, 2018

The Nzimande comment was one of many made by Malema at the press conference on Tuesday, which was mainly focused on his party’s reactions to recent allegations that EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu had received R10 million from VBS Bank and that the party itself had received R1.3 million.

These allegations followed the naming of Shivambu’s brother Brian in a report looking into the alleged looting of the bank, alleging that he was one of 50 people who had “gratuitously” received money, in his case R16 million.

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