AfriForum fires shots at BLF on Twitter

Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum fired shots at Black First, Land First (BLF) on Twitter on Thursday.

In September, ANC MP Nicolaas Koornhof called AfriForum a white Black First Land First (BLF).

But a tweet from the organisation’s deputy CEO Ernst Roets shows that, while others may see similarities between the lobby group and the party, Roets doesn’t, especially when it comes to numbers.

“I am convinced that AfriForum has more staff than BLF has members,” he tweeted.

I am convinced that AfriForum has more staff than BLF has members.

— Ernst Roets (@ErnstRoets) October 18, 2018

Roets is not the first to make fun of BLF’s numbers, with parody account Saxonwold Shebeen (@StateShebeen) having tweeted the following back in July:

BLF have just walked in. The entire membership of the party is here. Andile Mngxitama, two supporters, his mom, a used condom tied to a stick and a piece of Baleka Mbete’s weave.

They tell us their membership has tripled.

— Saxonwold Shebeen (@StateShebeen) July 12, 2018

While BLF has so far not taken the bate from Roets, some have been trying to coax a reply from the party, with one user asking the party if they will “let” AfriForum “make fun” of them.

@Mngxitama @BLF_SouthAfrica see what afriforum is saying about you. Are you gonna let them make fun of you.🤣 ngeke https://t.co/qREAgHocbU

— Meshack (@letswalo123) October 18, 2018

Whether or not BLF leader Andile Mngxitama had seen the tweet is unclear, but he has been active on Twitter since, tweeting a link to a documentary called “Land or death!”

READ MORE: ‘Malema is jealous of King Zwelithini, wants to be a king himself’

The documentary and the party’s ideology in general shows why AfriForum, who are fighting against land expropriation, is at odds with the BLF, which wants absolutely all white-owned land in South African expropriated.

https://twitter.com/Mngxitama/status/1052909458169495552

But while BLF and AfriForum appear to be natural enemies, and certainly haven’t shown each other any love in the past, some have accused Mngxitama and his party of being “comrades in arms” and “holding hands” with AfriForum.

This is because BLF have been longstanding supporters and defenders of King Goodwill Zwelithini and his Ingonyama Trust, and more recently, the king has joined forces with AfriForum to fight against expropriation.

This means that the unlikely pair of BLF and AfriForum appear to have an ally in common.

https://twitter.com/AyandaMthente/status/1051351280407461888

https://twitter.com/Mngxitama/status/1051002881883684865

https://twitter.com/Kolekile10/status/1050920134070730752

BLF’s support for King Zwelithini appears to stem from the party’s belief that only white-owned land should be targeted for expropriation.

Zwelithini has feared that his land, administered under the trust, could become a target for expropriation, although president Cyril Ramaphosa has travelled to his kingdom and assured him this will not be the case after the king threatened a violent war for secession if his land came under threat.

AfriForum, meanwhile, wants all expropriation off the table, hence their unlikely partnership with the Zulu king, who appears not to be fully convinced by Ramaphosa’s promises.

READ MORE: King Zwelithini joins forces with AfriForum

The ANC MP’s comment comparing AfriForum to BLF came after the organisation’s deputy CEO Ernst Roets made submissions to the joint constitutional review committee on the possible amendments to section 25 of the constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation.

Roets claimed the narrative of white people stealing the land was “the single biggest historical fallacy of our time” and the ANC was leading the country into a “communist utopia”.

His views got him yelled at by the UDM’s Mncedisi Filtane, who called the process “a waste of time”; drew the ire of the EFF, with Malema publishing a tweet calling for a “face to face confrontation” with the organisation; and was called “disappointing” by the ACDP.

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