Tlhabi protected ‘Indian crook’ Gordhan in Malema interview – Mashego

EFF Gauteng chairperson Mandisa Mashego took to Twitter to chastise SABC News show Unfiltered host Redi Tlhabi, accusing her of having an agenda and pushing lies in defence of the minister of public enterprises, Pravin Gordhan.

Mashego alleges that Tlhabi was only “pretending” she “wanted to discuss” the newly launched EFF manifesto, when her “true agenda” was to “push the lie” that Gordhan didn’t have a Canadian bank account.

Mashego also called Gordhan an “Indian crook”.

The EFF chairperson is referring to an interview between Tlhabi and EFF leader Julius Malema on Sunday night, which had a perfectly cordial tone until Tlhabi mentioned the allegations Malema and the party had made against Gordhan.

Part of the charges the EFF laid against the minister at the Brooklyn Police Station in November, 2018, involved an alleged dodgy bank account Gordhan supposedly had at the Royal Bank of Canada, which they believed contained R665 million as a result of “favours” he granted taxpayers.

WATCH: Malema interview goes south over Gordhan Canadian account claims

A fact-check on News24 found that the alleged account number provided by the EFF was not even in line with ones the bank actually issues, and the numbers seemed to have been “made up”.

Tlhabi took Malema to task over this, saying that while she is prepared not to assume the party’s guilt in the VBS Bank scandal, she feels they should afford Gordhan the same courtesy.

This led to things getting a bit heated in a marked departure from the relaxed tone the interview had before, with Tlhabi saying the EFF must “back up” their claims and Malema doubling down on the existence of the account.

Now, Mashego has accused Tlhabi of having an “agenda”, which she believed was to defend Gordhan, who the party had established as their ultimate nemesis since their old nemesis, former president Jacob Zuma, vacated the presidency.

Mashego also retweeted a user accusing Tlhabi of “embedded journalism”.

Tlhabi clapped back, pointing out that 27 minutes of the interview were taken up with the new manifesto, and that only one question at the end focused on the Canadian bank account.

“Your more able colleagues MUST take you under their wing to help you develop a thicker skin, fortitude, and longer concentration span,” tweeted Tlhabi.

She added, in another tweet, that the party would be confronted on “other current affairs”, not just their manifesto, as elections approached.

“You will either have to do what many in the ANC do, boycott the platform, or come with your sharpened skill and acumen as many of your own comrades have done many times before,” Tlhabi added.

The talk show host’s response made Mashego angry, as she believed she was being compared to “shady ANC people”. She responded by telling Tlhabi she was “playing with fire”, and should be “careful” not to “expose” herself further.

Tlhabi responded, pointing out that she was offering Mashego the choice of “either ” doing what many in the ANC have done or sharpening her skills, rather than actually comparing Mashego to ANC politicians.

She brought up an occasion in which Mashego, by Tlhabi’s account, “went ballistic” after she allegedly misunderstood the talk show host’s response to a woman on her 702 radio show who complained about affirmative action.

And, in conclusion, Tlhabi reiterated her calls for Mashego to develop a “longer concentration span” adding that she would advise the EFF chairperson to also strive to have “a thicker skin” and “less paranoia”.

Tlhabi also responded to another Twitter user, who noted that the Gordhan question was prompted by Malema’s response to a previous question and did not just “jump” out of “nowhere”. She added that while she would vote for the EFF, their “rabid attacks” must stop.

The talk show host thanked the user, saying she had been “too bored to explain this context” and calling the user “generous”, but adding that she would probably need “luck” in her attempts to explain this to other EFF supporters.

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