Vodacom and the EFF are at loggerheads again, with the political party’s supporters trashing Vodacom stores in retaliation for perceived slights against its leaders.
The issue at hand is an image of EFF leaders Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu projected during the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards keynote presentation by Corruption Watch chairman Mavuso Msimang, headlined: “Abusers of democracy!”.
It’s unclear from subsequent reports what the context of the slide was, in terms of the broader keynote speech.
However, Vodacom has been quick to distance itself from the image, releasing this statement: “Vodacom can confirm that Corruption Watch chairperson, Mavuso Msimang, was invited to give the keynote address at last night’s Vodacom Journalist of the Year awards.
“We believe in freedom of expression and would not censor Mr Msimang’s views; or those of other opinion makers.
“Vodacom is against discrimination and bigotry in all their manifestations, including race, age, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation and political thought.”
The EFF has responded with a call to boycott Vodacom, and some supporters have taken this further by protesting at Vodacom stores, with action reported in Kempton Park, Tshwane and Polokwane.
The Vodacom store in Polokwane’s Mall of the North is reported to have been vandalised.
Just the day before the controversial image was used in Msimang’s presentation, Corruption Watch had joined other civil society bodies in condemning EFF attacks on the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture and witnesses testifying before it.
“Civil society is the first to recognise that a robust, healthy democracy requires competing views and protest,” a joint statement read. “However, expression and protest action that threatens violence and harm, that looks to flirt with racist and bigoted sentiment and with hate speech can only erode our constitutional democracy, not strengthen it.
“Repeated, unsubstantiated claims, in addition to being all of that mentioned above, reveal an agenda that goes beyond criticism of the commission. It smacks of a deliberate attempt to undermine it and the participants who are uncovering the web of state capture and corruption.”
This isn’t the first time the EFF has bumped heads with Vodacom either.
In July, the party threated to destroy Vodacom stores unless they paid Nkosana Makate for coming up with the “Please call me” feature.