Mbaks, Niehaus in Twitter spat

ANC’s head of elections, Fikile Mbalula, has blocked fellow ANC member and former Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association spokesperson, Carl Niehaus, on his Twitter account after the two exchanged verbal blows on social media yesterday.

Niehaus accused Mbalula of “indulging in a nonsensical narrative statement”, but Mbalula retaliated by calling the sidelined MK veteran a “crook”.

“You are a crook, what the hell you are doing at Luthuli House is a mystery. Now that we are done with elections we must deal with you,” Mbalula tweeted in response.

Niehaus said Mbalula was “indulging in a nonsensical narrative” after he claimed that the ANC would have gone down to 40% if Cyril Ramaphosa was not elected ANC president.

“I have nowhere heard that President Ramaphosa claimed that the victory of the ANC is his rather than that of the ANC. No member of the ANC is bigger than the ANC, leaders come and go, the ANC remains,” Niehaus tweeted.

In an apparent defence of ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, Niehaus accused Mbalula of making provocative statements on social media and in mainstream media. Mbalula stated credit must be given to Ramaphosa after the ANC received 57.7% in the recent election, otherwise the party would have fallen as low as 40%.

Niehaus said ANC members must be disciplined at all costs and none must be allowed to ride roughshod over others.

“There are some comrades who are arrogant, provocative, careerists and triumphalist in the extreme. Look now again at what comrade Mbalula said to the SG on social media,” Niehaus said, further accusing Mbalula of misinterpreting what Magashule said.

“I am sorry, but discipline does not mean that we must curl up and die and allow ourselves to be subjected to constant provocation and abuse. I for one will never settle for that,” Niehaus said.

In response, Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom challenged Niehaus on Twitter.

“Carl, let’s rather talk about the money you took from people with your story about having bone marrow cancer. A deputy minister even went to the funeral of your mother, only to discover that she was still alive,” Hanekom tweeted.

In 2009, the Mail & Guardian quoted Niehaus confessing to allegations that he owed hundreds of thousands of rands to politicians and influential businessmen and committing fraud while working for the Gauteng provincial government.