MKMVA leadership concerned about increasingly serious and vicious threats including death threats – being made to our national spokesperson, Comrade Carl Niehaus 

27 June 2019

The National Office Bearers (NOB’s) of MKMVA have noted with grave concern the increasingly serious threats that are being made against the person of our MKMVA NEC member, and National Spokesperson, comrade Carl Niehaus. During the past few weeks comrade Niehaus has been on the receiving end of various abusive and threatening messages on social media. Many of these messages are racist and use vulgar and abusive language. There seems to be a concerted effort by a small, but very vocal and reactionary racist grouping in our society, to demonize comrade Niehaus and to create an atmosphere in which his, and his family’s, well-being and safety is under threat. It is very disturbing that these abusive messages also do not shy away from attacking his children.

The National Office Bearers of MKMVA is of the opinion that this situation is intolerable and cannot be allowed to continue. We are deeply concerned that these attacks on comrade Niehaus, for simply doing his work as National Spokesperson of MKMVA and effectively conveying our well-considered policy positions, together with the work that he is doing as a deployee in the Office of the Secretary General (SGO) of the ANC, must be condemned without reservation, and that the necessary steps must be taken to bring an end to this intimidation and abuse.

This is not freedom speech, it is intolerance of the worst kind. Nothing else but abuse, and the antithesis of freedom of expression.

Evidently the intention is to intimidate and silence comrade Niehaus, and by extension also MKMVA. The question must be asked about whose interests in our society are being served by this kind of intimidatory and anti-democratic behavior?

We are furthermore concerned that the mainstream media does not seem to find anything wrong with this abuse, but by reporting uncritically about it they actually deliberately legitimize and amplify it. It is our distinct impression that this is informed by the strong positions that MMVA, and comrade Niehaus as our Spokesperson, have taken in favor of Radical Economic Transformation (RET), and our principled and determined push for the pro-RET Resolutions of the 54th National Conference of the ANC to be implemented in full.

The National Office Bearers of MKMVA are very concerned that comrade Niehaus’ personal safety, and that of his family, is now under serious threat. We also want to express our utter disappointment and concern about the manner in which some of our own comrades in the ANC have been attacking comrade Niehaus, and the deliberate fake news and lies that they have told about him to journalists. We have no doubt that these comrades have contributed to the poisoned atmosphere, and must now take co-responsibility for the treats to comrade Niehaus’s safety, and if there is ever an instance where he, or his family, as a consequence suffers any harm.

Last night comrade Niehaus received a very disturbing tweet from a certain Mr. Jacob Neetling, who calls himself “White Lion”, the tweet in Afrikaans reads: ”Jou fokkin veraaier. Ek moes jou vrek geskiet het in Angola !!! Jou dag is naby !!!!!!”. (You fucking traitor. I should have shot you dead in Angola !!! Your day is close !!!!!!). The words, “Your day is close”, combined with the sentiments that Neetling expresses that he should have shot comrade Niehaus dead in Angola, cannot be construed as anything else but a very serious threat. In fact a death threat. Having perused Mr. Neetling’s twitter and Facebook accounts, it is evident that he holds extreme racist views, which lead him to comment, among other offensive posts, positively about the Ku Klux Klan, and to refer to comrade Zindzi Mandela in the most vulgar racist and sexist terms.

This death threat to comrade Niehaus, follows a few weeks after someone commented on a story that was carried on the IOL Facebook news site, about comrade Niehaus pushing for the implementation of the Resolutions of the 54th National Conference of the ANC, that his eyes should be gouged out, and his throat cut.

The National Office Bearers of MKMVA have advised comrade Niehaus to urgently open a case against Mr. Jacob Neetling for attempted murder, and incitement to cause serious bodily harm. Comrade Niehaus has accepted our comradely advise, and will in the course of today open such a case, or cases, at the Sandton Police Station.

In conclusion MKMVA wants to assure comrade Niehaus of our unwavering support to him and his family during these trying times. 

Issued by Kebby Maphatsoe, President of MKMVA, 27 June 2019