By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Economic Freedom Fighters(EFF) has kept its promise to purchase a brand new Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe SUV worth more than R1.8 million to the AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo.
The EFF on Saturday hosted a welcoming ceremony for Dalindyebo at the Nkululekweni residence in Mthatha.
The event was attended by EFF leader Julius Malema, his deputy Floyd Shivambu as well as the party’s other national leaders including EFF former national chairperson Dali Mpofu.
Speaking at the ceremony on Saturday at Nkululekweni residence, Malema dismissed suggestions that they were trying to bribe the king.
He said they had always supported Dalindyebo even during his incarceration in 2015 when he was sentenced to 15 years for seven counts of kidnapping, three of assault, three of arson, one of culpable homicide and one of defeating the ends of justice.
“We are not here to bribe the king because we were with the king in prison when they all abandoned him and they decided to imprison the king. What a taboo this government did to our own AbaThembu nation,” Malema said.
“We are not going to be told by whiteness as to how we should honour and support our traditional leadership. Kumkani (king) Dalindyebo is our hero,” he added.
The EFF’s gift to His Majesty King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo !#EFFWelcomesKingDalindyebo pic.twitter.com/18bVyR7Yry
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) November 13, 2021
[IN PICTURES ?]
Befitting for a King and Queen!#EFFWelcomesKingDalindyebo pic.twitter.com/QUDUlggh8R
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) November 13, 2021
Mpofu said the EFF was gifting the car to Dalindyebo to make it easy for him to travel around and interact with his subjects.
He reiterated that the EFF was not giving the king the vehicle to buy his influence as a traditional leader, adding that Dalindyebo should use the Mercedes-Benz to serve his people.
“Tomorrow someone from a different political party might come and says they’re gifting the king a helicopter to surpass our gift. You must take it.
“You don’t need our permission, if anybody else comes here and gives you another gift and that’s bigger than ours. Take it because it is yours,” Mpofu said.
Two weeks ago Dalindyebo joined Malema on the campaign trail where he announced that EFF had promised him a car.
He added that Malema’s gift was of “royal calibre” and urged his subjects to vote EFF in the municipal elections.
The ANC has since took Mthatha-based King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality (KSD), named after Buyelekhaya’s father, after garnering 64.3% of the vote, while the EFF managed 6.97%.
The ANC now has 48 seats in council, followed by the UDM with 11, while the EFF could only muster five.