South Africa News

Fikile Mbalula accused of laughing at Zimbabwe protest violence

‘Clowns are everywhere’, said the unconcerned minister after an entertainment commentator said you can’t joke about black people being ‘dehumanised’.

Entertainment commentator and blogger Phil Mphela was outraged over what he saw as Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula “laughing” at the situation in Zimbabwe.

Mbalula had posted a picture of protestors in Zimbabwe running from a policeman, who appears to be trying to kick them.

One of his followers responded by removing the policeman from the image and Photoshopping him onto a soccer pitch, where it looks like he is about to kick a ball.

Mbalula’s response – several laughter emojis and the words “that was quick” – show he was clearly amused by the work of his follower.

This upset Mphela, who expressed the view that the situation in Zimbabwe and initial photo shared by the minister show the dehumanisation of black people, and that this should not be seen as “an opportunity to make a joke”.

When the person who made the Photoshop ‘joke’ posted a screenshot of Mphela’s tweet expressing outrage, Mbalula’s response showed he was not overly concerned at the backlash.

“Clowns are everywhere,” he said.

Mphela responded, telling the minister his Twitter behaviour “looks bad” and that he must “step up”.

“If having a modicum of integrity and empathy towards my fellow black people makes me a clown, I wear that like a badge of honor!” he tweeted.

Protests that began on Friday in Zimbabwe are the first since rallies in January against Mnangagwa’s decision to hike fuel prices that ended in deadly clashes with troops.

At least 17 people were killed and scores wounded after the army used force, including live ammunition, to crush the demonstrations.

Amnesty International condemned Friday’s police action saying it demonstrated “just how far the authorities will go to repress dissent”.

The British embassy in Harare said it was “concerned at the images of the heavy-handed response to disperse crowds in Harare”.

US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy called on Zimbabwe’s security forces to “respect human rights and to exercise restraint”.

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Source: TheCitizen