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Backlash over Maimane’s mini-Mandela utterances

Mmusi Maimane
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Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane faces a backlash in the wake of his mini- Nelson Mandela claims during his party’s Freedom Day celebrations in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria.

Maimane told party supporters that people phone and interact with him on social media platforms referring to him as mini-Mandela and further labelling him as a “sell-out”.

South African National Civics Organisation (Sanco) and the African National Congress (ANC) in the Tshwane region are calling on Maimane to retract his utterances and apologise. Sanco spokesperson Jabu Mahlangu says Maimane’s words borders on criminality.

“It’s theft and it’s almost bordering on criminality and indeed our view is that he must desist from appropriating our icons including Winnie Mandela, including Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, OR Tambo and a host of other leaders that belong to the ANC., Surely his party has got its history and heritage coming back from apartheid period and that’s where he should locate his party heritage.”

Meanwhile, Political Analyst Professor Tinyiko Maluleke says utterances such as Mandela sold out the revolution, are a gross misrepresentation.

“These misunderstandings and trivialisation show up in one of two ways more recently. Either people accuse Mandela of having sold out or they imagined themselves as the new Mandelas and sometimes these two misconceptions coincide and both of them are a gross misrepresentation of who Mandela really was.”

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