Fees Must Fall Activist Bonginkosi Khanyile Accuses EFF Of Abuse
Bonginkosi Khanyile, a Fees Must Fall activist and former EFF member, is claiming harassment and death threats from party secretary-general Marshall Dlamini and Mandla Shikwambana, president of the party’s student command.
The accusation was made in an open letter to Dlamini, which SurgeZirc SA obtained, along with screenshots of threatening text messages and tweets.
A message sent to Khanyile by Dlamini reads: “You must stop going around attacking the EFF through me as the SG. I promise I will find you and you’ll meet your maker. You are a small boy.”
Khanyile was perplexed by the message because he hadn’t spoken to Dlamini in months. He assumed Dlamini was enraged by his recent support for Operation Dudula, with which the EFF had recently clashed. “He is the SG and he is the one that has been mobilising members of the EFF and declared me an enemy,” Khanyile told TimesLIVE.
Sinawo Tambo, an EFF spokesperson, dismissed Khanyile’s claims as attempts to stay relevant. He also denied that Dlamini or other EFF leaders had threatened the activist.
“We couldn’t care less what a former member has to say about the EFF. The EFF SG and the president of the student command have threatened no-one, attacked no-one, and no baseless attempt or act of victimhood will make such claims a reality,” he said.
Last month, Dlamini tweeted that former EFF members like Khanyile “who have joined the ranks of our enemies, should be treated as our enemies. Fighters, have zero mercy when confronting your enemies”.
Ex Eff Members like Bonginkosi Khanyile who have joined the ranks of our enemies, should be treated like our enemies, Fighters, have zero mercy when confronting your enemy:
— Marshall Dlamini (@DlaminiMarshall) March 27, 2022
This followed Khanyile’s support for Operation Dudula and its leader, Nhlanhla ‘Lux’ Dlamini, who was arrested in connection with the alleged ransacking of EFF member Victor Ramerafe’s Soweto home.
The group had accompanied Ramerafe to the Dobsonville police station to file a criminal complaint against him.
During the same time period, Shikwambana stated that people who are former members of the EFF Students Command like Bonginkosi [Khanyile] who go around speaking nonsense about our leadership must be attended [to]”.
He also claimed that people were being paid to attack the party’s leadership, urging them to “attack them guerrilla-style.”
At the height of the Fees Must Fall protest, Khanyile had the support of the EFF and claimed to be a card-carrying member of the party until the relationship soured. “I was a member of the EFF but, I guess I was chased out and it was confirmed by an SG that I’m an ex-member of the EFF. When the secretary-general says that, that is the position. I never terminated my membership,” said Khanyile.
