EFF laughed at for drinking Rupert & Rothschild wines at gala dinner

The Economic Freedom Fighters’ curious choice of wine for their gala dinner on Friday night in Pretoria, ahead of the launch of their elections manifesto this weekend, has left many not only scratching their heads, but accusing the party of hypocrisy.

Political journalist Carien du Plessis tweeted photos of billionaire businessman Johann Rupert’s wine brand Rupert & Rothschild on the tables at the dinner, and added that Malema had even again criticised Rupert on the evening, claiming the EFF was supposedly the only party not in the pockets of so-called white monopoly capital (WMC), and Rupert in particular.

#EFFGalaDinner; CIC @Julius_S_Malema giving the keynote this evening. pic.twitter.com/gGpztlDnac

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) February 1, 2019

#EFFGalaDinner Malema: We are the only party that can unashamedly fight White Monopoly Capitalists. We do not want to maintain the status quo, we want to challenge the status quo.

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) February 1, 2019

When a Twitter user accused Du Plessis of lying about the presence of the wine, she shared a picture of herself holding a bottle with the EFF’s logo in the background. A bottle sells for about R200 in shops.

Here is a different angle 😬 pic.twitter.com/6SrSpZLtyj

— carien du plessis (@carienduplessis) February 1, 2019

Julius Malema speaking about how important it is to fund multiparty democracy, saying the EFF is the only party that isn’t owned by the Ruperts. Perhaps that is why we have to drink this Rupert & Rothschild on the tables 🙈 #EFFgaladinner #EFFmanifesto

— carien du plessis (@carienduplessis) February 1, 2019

Another person even accused her of bringing the wine along herself to “frame” the EFF, which she said wasn’t the kind of “forward planning” she was capable of.

😂😂😂 you are flattering but my forward planning skills aren’t this advanced … https://t.co/cgI8kMQLt9

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— carien du plessis (@carienduplessis) February 1, 2019

#EFFGalaDinner Malema: If you do not support small parties like the EFF then we run the risk of having the likes of the Rupert's running the country. The likelihood is that the Rupert's have got everyone except the EFF.

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) February 1, 2019

Du Plessis admitted the wine was excellent and she was trying not to quaff too much of it herself.

It’s a good wine I must admit 🙈. Trying to have only small sips … not bottles 😂 https://t.co/m46QfXE6pN

— carien du plessis (@carienduplessis) February 1, 2019

Hehe. And I love this wine 🙈 https://t.co/AMIgXbcysY

— carien du plessis (@carienduplessis) February 1, 2019

This business guy at the table ordered some Veuve, but the business in Tshwane isn’t Bosasa-sized so he isn’t sharing with everyone on the table. Some people at another table ordered Moët demi-sec for which they will burn in champagne hell 🙄 https://t.co/Mq1fJaOTJn

— carien du plessis (@carienduplessis) February 1, 2019

Amid the Twitter banter, another political journalist, Qaanitah Hunter, shared a photo suggesting the ANC is also a big Rupert & Rothschild wine fan, as she was seeing the same wine on the tables at an ANC event in the Northern Cape.

Du Plessis said she’d previously drunk this “WMC red wine” at the ANC’s gala dinner ahead of its elective conference in 2017.

Haha same at ANC Northern Cape gala dinner tonight. pic.twitter.com/z4tvN1A8sX

— Qaanitah Hunter (@QaanitahHunter) February 1, 2019

Last year the EFF accused Rupert of being “the ultimate face of white privilege” and “an arrogant, white Afrikaner who sees nothing beyond his selfish, racist, white capitalist interests”.

They were reacting to an interview he’d given in which he’d advised South Africans, among other things, not to waste their time and money at luxury party venues such as Taboo and The Sands, and rather save and work hard as he and his family had done.

Many black people took exception to his comments and felt he was patronising them and showing complete tone-deafness to South Africa’s history and his own privilege.

In a December statement, the EFF said they had “always warned” the country against Rupert, claiming he was actually “a president of whites in South Africa”.

The party claimed to be a “nightmare” to Rupert, and expressed their pride over that.

In a reaction statement on Saturday morning, rival political party Black First Land First (BLF) was incensed that the EFF had bought Rupert’s wine when it could instead have supported a black wine producer.

They said the EFF was “promoting the racist Johann Rupert’s wine at its gala dinner”.

“First our people were sold for tea in London over #OccupyABSA, now our people are sold for expensive wine over the land question.

They said the EFF could not claim to be a revolutionary political party “fighting WMC, and then promote the businesses and products of the Stellenbosch cabal, led by Rupert”.

“This proves that the EFF is unprincipled and subservient to whites.

“The same EFF that claims to be revolutionary and wears overalls in Parliament, dines in Gucci and drinks Rupert’s wine at night. There are many black-owned wine brands that need exposure and support which the EFF could have promoted, but just like the African National Congress (ANC), they put white people first and support white businesses for their own personal gain.”

Du Plessis herself later shared a tweet promoting the wines of a black producer.

We 🚚 Deliver everywhere in South Africa Cell Number 0730813691 #effgaladinner.. Hv a Taste of khayelitsha 🍷 😉 Western Cape. The people that ⚒ work the vineyards. pic.twitter.com/2d2YcDBIRT

— Likhayalethu (@khayabelani) February 1, 2019

[In Pics]: #EFFgalaDinner pic.twitter.com/heYriWHsNf

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) February 1, 2019

(Compiled by Charles Cilliers)

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