CAPE TOWN – African National Congress (ANC) chief whip Jackson Mthembu has hit back at claims by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) that the party insulted Winnie Madikizela-Mandela during the renaming of Cape Town’s airport debated in Parliament on Tuesday.
During the debate, ANC MP Dikeledi Magadzi said that the ANC believed it was “vital that such a significant airport should be named after someone who is tried and tested” and that “it must be named after someone who’s got substance and virtue in society”.
These words have since been used on social media, particularly by the EFF, to suggest that the ANC has no respect for the late struggle icon.
Mthembu says this isn’t true.
Mthembu says when Magadzi referred to “tried and tested” people and people “with virtue” she was including Madikizela-Mandela.
“Mama Winnie was not insulted by anybody, particularly not from the benches of the ANC.”
Mthembu says Madikizela-Mandela’s name is among those proposed in the formal process underway to rename Cape Town’s airport.
“Indeed, she is a person of virtue, she is a tried and tested leader of our people. So, all that we are saying is that people must not be gullible and just consume any fake news without reading everything and viewing everything that was said by the honourable Magadzi on this matter.”
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