Cape Town - Afrikaans singer Steve Hofmeyr and Nelson Mandela’s right-hand woman Zelda la Grange have engaged in a war of words on Twitter over the former president’s legacy.
Hofmeyr ignited the debate at the weekend when he posted a link to an obscure article written 11 years ago by US writer and magazine publisher Emanuel McLittle, titled “The Nerve of Nelson Mandela”.
Published on September 19, 2002, the article claimed: “With little to no experience in politics, except the killing of whites and rival Zulu tribesmen, Mandela has no legitimate claim to greatness.”
Hofmeyr told his Twitter followers: “Must read. Hel. Wat ’n stuk.” (Must read. Hell. What a piece.)
He went on to tweet that Youth Day was “where I can reflect how my YES vote destroyed the future of white youth” – believed to be a reference to the 1992 referendum, limited to white voters, who were asked whether they supported the negotiated reforms begun by then president FW de Klerk.
La Grange took exception to Hofmeyr’s posting of the McLittle link, and suggested he held the same view of Mandela.
She asked Hofmeyr why he appeared to have changed his attitude since his visit to Madiba eight years ago, where he had been respectful.
Hofmeyr also tweeted, in Afrikaans: “The model of mutual forgiveness which Mandela represented means F*** All for my people and the future of their children. You (La Grange) defend it. I don’t.”
Hofmeyr also argued that the views in McLittle’s article were not his and demanded an apology from La Grange.
Cape Argus