It was a bad day for transport minister Fikile Mbalula when on Sunday, news reports alleged that he received a R50 000 payment from the now infamous CR17 campaign despite publicly supporting Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Mbalula was allegedly paid by the campaign of Cyril Ramaphosa together with Zizi Kodwa and others. He was then accused of being a “sellout” by some Twitter users with his name on the second spot on the Twitter’s South African trend list.
A Twitter user, Riccardo_Elle ™ (@Landless_Native) said what Mbalula allegedly did was not surprising at all.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/CR17BankStatements?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CR17BankStatements pic.twitter.com/au0eLTM6vv
— Riccardo_Elle ™ (@Landless_Native)
But Mbalula hit back, saying the R50 000 was made to him on January 3, 2019, just over a year after the Nasrec conference where money allegedly flew like cheap wine in a shebeen.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/CR17leaks?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CR17leaks #RamaphosaLeaks #CR17BankStatements
— Minister of Transport |Mr Fix (@MbalulaFikile)
However, the response was not enough to pacify his critics with one Twitter users Valentine mlambo (@Valentinemlamb1) asking him what service he provided that justifies the payment.
What services did you provide to receive that payment? especially from a CAMPAIGN ACCOUNT?
— Valentine mlambo😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 (@Valentinemlamb1) August 18, 2019
Another user, KAY (@kopano_1) weighed in saying Mbalula must tell the world what the suspicious payment was for.
“You can't just say people are gullible,without explaining the purpose of the deposit.”
This was while other users thanked Mbalula for indirectly confirming that the CR17 leaks were authentic.
Durban-based independent political analyst Thabani Khumalo said the revelations confirm long held suspicions that Mbalula have no political backbone and he is an opportunist of the highest order.
“This is one of the many things that confirms that he is a spineless politician. Most people thought that he was on the side of NDZ but all of a sudden it emerges that he was on the other side… So Mbalula can best be described as a leader who lacks principles, he is an opportunist, no principles, he sees an opportunity and grabs it,” Khumalo said.
A long time internal ANC critic of Ramaphosa, Mzwandile Masina had earlier taken to the same platform to air his disgust after the bank statement from FNB was revealed.
“Having read the Bank Statements legally or illegally I can onlu come one conclusion “Atshile amaqabame kaTambo” during this looting period (sic). Now the big question is where is SARS and NPA for money money laundering and tax avoidance.”
Having read the Bank Statements legally or illegally I can onlu come one conclusion “Atshile amaqabame kaTambo” during this looting period. Now the big question is where is SARS and NPA for money money laundering and tax avoidance.
— Mzwandile Masina (@mzwandileMasina) August 17, 2019