Black First Land First (BLF) leader Andile Mngxitama briefs media at BLF Head Office in Johannesburg, 11 November 2018, on why BLF calls for 5 Whites for every 1 Black life and an announcement of steps to be taken to ensure self defence. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) has made it clear that they want Black First Land First (BLF) out of the upcoming elections for not complying with the electoral code and for stating that only black people may join the party.
The FF+ has launched an urgent application with the electoral court in Bloemfontein to have the BLF’s registration nullified. The urgent application was in response to a clause in the BLF’s constitution, which allegedly stated that only black people may join.
FF+ leader Pieter Groenewald said it was a mistake for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to allow BLF to register, in terms of legislation. According to him, the BLF is in contravention of the Electoral Commission Act section 16 1(a) as well as contravention of the Constitution.
BLF leader Andile Mngxitama, during a head-to-head interview with the FF+ on eNCA, retaliated by describing “land thieves” as being scared.
“Land thieves are scared, land thieves are terrified, that BLF is going to parliament. If they were really serious about the law, they would have complied with the provisions of the IEC Act which gives them 30 days to object when a party is being registered.
“They didn’t do this,” Mngxitama said as he added that the FF+ was terrified because they knew that a black party “which represents black people will not sell out, [it] will make sure that we dispossess them of their land and give it to the rightful owners”. He said “they are panicking” knowing that BLF was headed to parliament.
“They will lose in court, they will lose in parliament, they will lose outside of parliament because we’re (BLF) coming to take the land.
“We’re very confident they will lose, we will win.”
The application to have BLF not participate in the elections comes after FF+ MP Wouter Wessels defended the organisation by stating that the party was not a racist organisation.
It seems he was responding to a triggered Mngxitama, who had tweeted that the BLF was not intimidated by legal action against the party.
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