Floyd Shivambu denies he’s leaving EFF for ‘spaza shops’ or the ANC

In a tweet on Sunday afternoon, EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu put paid to rumours that have been circulating on social media that he and party president Julius Malema may have had a fallout.

He said it was an “impractical possibility” that “we” would ever leave the EFF, especially for “spaza shops [small parties] or dead centenarians [the ANC, which is 107 this year]”.

Some had attempted to link Shivambu to an announcement by former government spin doctor Mzwanele Manyi, who said on Twitter this weekend that he’s leaving the ANC and will be joining or starting another group.

However, the photo of the two men circulating is more than two years old (see the original below).

Deal sealed. @FloydShivambu is coming back. pic.twitter.com/N2a4CRauJZ

— Mzwanele Manyi (@MzwaneleManyi) October 6, 2016

Malema added fuel to the speculation with a tweet on Saturday in which he shared an image of someone stabbed in the back with multiple implements and a caption that claimed that people with a “good heart” and who want to help, give and love “too much” end up being betrayed.

Is unavoidable, we are heading for a confrontation and fighters you will have to tighten the seat belt. We must have no patience for betrayal… pic.twitter.com/kY6lP8rUHc

— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) January 5, 2019

He told his followers that betrayal was “inevitable, we are heading for a confrontation and fighters you will have to tighten seat belt. We must have no patience for betrayal.”

Some then tried to suggest the person who had betrayed him was Shivambu. There have been numerous attempts to report bad blood between the two men in the past, which has never amounted to much.

Many on Twitter were quick to speculate about what Malema’s message meant, with rumours and reports of infighting in the party. The cause is widely thought to be linked to the fallout from the VBS bank scandal that implicated Malema and Shivambu directly in being part of the looting that ultimately led to the bank being liquidated.

However, the tweets were all pure speculation.

On Sunday, Shivambu said this was the kind of thing produced by “fools that are lazy to think”. He said he was focusing on the party’s manifesto launch at the start of February.

Fools that are lazy to think are trying to associate us with an impractical possibility of leaving the EFF. We will never leave the EFF to join spaza shops or dead centenarians. It’s EFF forever, and our focus now in the launch of the people’s manifesto. No retreat! No surrender! pic.twitter.com/sA0y4XuoTv

— Floyd Shivambu (@FloydShivambu) January 6, 2019

(Compiled by Charles Cilliers)

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