Journo ready to sue over EFF fan’s ‘death threat’

News24 editor Adriaan Basson yesterday said he would probably open a case against an Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) supporter with the handle @tsk_tsheko, who took to Twitter on Tuesday to threaten to slaughter “white animals” and to kill “people like” Basson.

The supporter, “TshekoTsk”, who appears to be a devoted party member, deleted his tweet.

He was responding to a news article about Black First Land First (BLF) leader Andile Mngxitama’s call over the weekend to kill white people.

TshekoTsk said although he had never agreed with Mngxitama on any issue before, this time he did, adding that “action” had to be devised to kill white people such as Basson, who has recently been very critical of the EFF leadership, particularly leader Julius Malema.

Basson said he would “probably” open a case with the police today. “Even if it’s just for the record.” He also reported the tweet, which is probably why the EFF fan deleted it. He was apparently trying to reach out to the person “for a conversation”.

Malema referred to Basson as a “racist thing” and Basson then wrote an opinion piece alleging Malema and his politics have been “unravelling spectacularly”.

Responding to EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee’s tweet last week reminding EFF members about the party’s first land expropriation advert, TshekoTsk said he was proud to be part of “this generation”.

He said he had been arrested three times between June 2017 and July this year because of “this land struggle”. “Rubber bullets I don’t count but finally I’m singing,” he said.

Jacques Pauw was also on TshekoTsk’s radar two weeks ago after the journalist published the Malema family home’s address on social media.

“We will make sure you become the first casualty. We will deal with your whiteness accordingly,” he said.