The ‘Mazzotti boys’ must confess, ask forgiveness for VBS – Mngxitama

On his blog Black Opinion, leader of deregistered party Black First Land First (BLF) Andile Mngxitama has written a post reacting to a report over the weekend that Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema allegedly used money looted from VBS Bank to partially pay for a R5 million home in wealthy Johannesburg suburb Sandown.

The tongue-in-cheek piece of writing throws shade at the EFF, who he says “steal from the poor and eat their money”, following the Sunday Times article.

It refers to the EFF not by name but as the “Mazzotti boys”, a reference to the alleged cigarette smuggler Malema admitted has funded the party.

“Their problem is that they leave a paper trail. They really thought that they were protected from StratCom when they joined hands against President Zuma,” said Mngxitama, in reference to back when the media and the red berets appeared united in opposition to the former president.

“Also remember how they were having dinners with Johann Rupert? He must have assured them all is good,” Mngxitama continued, in a likely reference to allegations that EFF second-in-command Floyd Shivambu once enjoyed a “close relationship” with the billionaire businessman, who is meant to be one of the red berets’ primary enemies.

READ MORE: BLF wonders where EFF was yesterday when Mkhwebane’s removal was discussed

After listing the people Mngxitama says the EFF probably thought would protect them, he said “Pravin Gordhan is revealing their files to the media” nevertheless.

“They are certainly being properly managed. That’s why there will be no challenge to Cyril Ramaphosa in parliament.

“There will also not be any serious action for land expropriation without compensation. In the meantime white monopoly capital and the National Prosecuting Authority keep on threatening jail…”

This is all repetition of oft-made claims by the BLF leader that the ANC under Ramaphosa isn’t serious about wanting to implement expropriation without compensation, and that the EFF isn’t either.

The BLF leader then lists what he sees as the EFF’s options at this point:

• Sue the newspapers for lying. Why not? I mean they did sue their own members recently.
• Take the newspaper to the Press Ombudsman for writing lies about them.
• Come out and confess, and also ask for forgiveness for collapsing VBS for cars and houses. VBS was the only black bank we ever had.

“The comprador is clearly too compromised to lead the struggle against capital and colonialism,” added Mngxitama, a one-time EFF MP himself.

A comprador is someone who claims to be a revolutionary but is really acting as an agent for foreign organisations. The term is popular with Marxists.

“The best contribution of these guys will be taking their party into coalitions with the Democratic Alliance,” was the BLF leader’s final word on the subject.

Mngxitama was expelled from the EFF in 2015 and has since become one of its fiercest critics, often accusing it of not being radical or revolutionary enough.

His own party, BLF, was deregistered following the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) laying a complaint with the Electoral Court due to BLF’s constitution indicating that only black people can join the party. Exclusion on the basis of race is unconstitutional.

The BLF tried and failed to appeal the decision by the IEC to deregister them.

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