Police minister must act on BLF

The condemnation of President Jacob Zuma’s new “political pitbulls”, Black First Land First (BLF), who intimidated Tiso Blackstar editor-at-large Peter Bruce and threatened other journalists, is not good enough. The reasons for this primitive behaviour have to be uncovered. It will take more than condemnation to stop them. Police Minister Fikile Mbalula must act now.

We must speak to the moral conscience of the ANC, particularly Ayanda Dlodlo, Jackson Mthembu, Zizi Kodwa and Humphrey Maxhegwana, to ask Zuma to distance himself from BLF.

Outstanding journalists associated themselves with the ANC — Alex La Guma, Brian Bunting, Ruth First, Marion Sparg, Nat Serache, Thami Mkhwanazi, Thenjiwe Mtintso, Zwelakhe Sisulu, Mtholephi Mthimkhulu, Joe Gqabi and many more. Liberation history is filled with journalists such as Donald Woods, Aggrey Klaaste, Gabu Tugwana, Percy Qoboza, Thami Mazwai, Subri Govender, Phil Mthimkhulu and Ameen Akhalwaya — a long list.

Ideological differences are one thing, but what these political pitbulls are doing means we are back in the days of Jimmy Kruger and Black September. In The People’s War, Charles Nqakula is detailed on how the BJ Vorster and PW Botha regimes suppressed the media.

To BLF, truths exposed in the Gupta emails are lies created by “white monopoly capital”. I remember Andile Mngxitama as a Black Consciousness ideologue. Since leaving the Economic Freedom Fighters, he has become a stooge of the Guptas and Zuma. He must tell us how thieves can advance a left agenda.

The ANC Youth League created context for such hooliganism. When former finance minister Pravin Gordhan began speaking about corruption at the memorial service of Ahmed Kathrada, hired youth league hooligans disrupted the service. As the custodian of the ANC Code of Conduct, secretary-general Gwede Mantashe has done nothing to charge these hooligans.

May Suna Venter rest in peace.