Steve Motale ‘exposes’ Malema for mixing with ‘dodgy’ people

The former editor of the Sunday Independent, Steve Motale, took to Twitter on Friday to accuse EFF leader Julius Malema of hypocrisy over accusations concerning the company he keeps.

Malema had earlier told JJ Tabane in an interview that he considered Motale a questionable figure as he mixed with “dodgy characters”.

Motale, who recently resigned from the Sunday paper to pursue “entrepreneurial interests”, took great offence and prepared his Twitter followers for the fact that he would be responding to Malema.

That response took the form of a tweet in which a younger Malema can be seen hanging out and drinking whisky with a group of men.

Motale posted: “Contrary to your nonsensical claim, I’ve never been accused or found guilty of any unethical conduct. My track record of more than 20 years speaks for itself. That I mix up with dodgy characters is rich coming from you. This pic tells all about those you mix with.”

Mikey Schultz is among the men in the picture (far left). He was famously the triggerman in the assassination of mining mogul Brett Kebble.

The man next to Schultz is the perhaps even more notorious Adriano Mazzotti, the director of a cigarette company, Carnilinx, which has long been under investigation by SARS for smuggling and tax evasion.

This isn’t the first photo of Malema with Mazzotti that has emerged.

Mazzotti is a known funder of Malema’s EFF. The businessman once told City Press he had given the party R200 000 to register themselves.

Mazzotti has also been linked to other underworld figures such as Glenn Agliotti and features prominently in Jacques Pauw’s book The President’s Keepers.

Pauw wrote that Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s campaign to become the ANC’s next president was partly being funded by Mazzotti, whom Pauw described as a tobacco smuggler. According to an affidavit in Pauw’s possession, Mazzotti had admitted to bribing public officials, laundering money and committing fraud.

Many Twitter users criticised Motale’s post on the basis that it was easy to see the photo was “old” due to Malema being more “overweight” in that photo than he is these days.

Journalist Neal Collins, however, thought it was a bit of an indictment on Malema to be seen in such company.