PETER BRUCE: Julius Malema and the wavering whites
'We hang out in bars, are bewildered by almost anyone under 40, can't finish articles about replacing gross domestic product as a measure of growth and we aren't leaving the country'
EXTRACT
Thursday was the worst day for the EFF in years. The normally impeccable Dali Mpofu fluffed his lines so badly at one stage that he tweeted, in response to a friendly inquiry about whether Floyd could be charged for his brother's crimes: "Ja! In the Ignorant Republic of the Mob [the 'mob' being EFF critics] you can be charged for the deeds of your relatives ."
To which someone, brilliantly, replied to the normally silver-tongued advocate: "But you support the State penalising people whose relatives stole the land ."
When I stopped laughing I reminded myself of my new resolve not to judge. It's not that easy, but there's a line in a John le Carré novel that I've never forgotten because it is so often true: "When you are accused of monstrous things, nothing sounds so feeble as the truth."
This time, in this scandal, let's do something different. All of us. Together. Let's not rush into judgment. Yes, a devastating report into the robbery of VBS Mutual Bank in Limpopo shows that it transferred R16.1m to Brian Shivambu, brother of Floyd, deputy leader of the EFF. My initial response in a column was to assume this would be party financing, as parties of the Left always struggle for funds. But I take it back. What if I was wrong? What if there's a perfectly innocent explanation for a guy who left university just last year securing R16.1m from a bank? It is a stretch, I know. It sounds dodgy as hell but the VBS bank robbery has been so graphically spelt out by its author, advocate Terry Motau, that even the SAPS should be able to spot the crimes and write up the charges. There'll be a queue of people to help them if they need explanations. Still, the Shivambu thing nags at me. Thursday was the worst day for the EFF in years. The normally impeccable Dali Mpofu fluffed his ...
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