Photo: EFF / Twitter
Photo: EFF / Twitter
Has anyone ever thought of telling Julius Malema to walk away from the keyboard? His Twitter activity always seems to land him in some sort of trouble – and this time, he’s upset the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
Julius Malema claims SANDF soldiers are ‘starving’
Juju found himself in SANDF’s bad books following a post he shared over the weekend. The EFF leader claimed to have received a text message from a soldier, who purportedly said that no food had been provided for his starving colleagues.
The army is threatening to withdraw!????????♂️ pic.twitter.com/lBSk0pzBi5
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) August 22, 2021
Grab the popcorn! Army hits back at Juju
The post, shared several thousand times, has since forced SANDF into some online diplomacy. Despite not mentioning Julius Malema by name, their recently published statement heavily references the Twitter post on his feed.
Responding in typically regimented fashion, SANDF suggested that Malema ‘could be prosecuted’ for choosing to share ‘baseless misinformation’ with his 3.6 million followers on the platform.
Army officials have conceded that there was an issue with food supplies, but according to the top brass, this has since been taken care of. Malema’s offending post still remains active, as of 14:30 on Monday.
“SANDF is highly concerned by ill-intended social media comments about the alleged withdrawal of soldiers. We dismiss with contempt, and scoff at the baseless insinuations that are aimed at causing panic. Perpetrators of such insinuations are reminded that it is an illegal and prosecutable offence to spread fake news or misinformation.”
“We acknowledge that there were challenges with ration packs and meal allowances. These received the necessary attention. It is outright disingenuous to suggest that soldiers are starving and considering withdrawing for the mission.”
- You can read the full SANDF statement here…
SA National Defence Force Media Statement | Monday, 23 August 2021 | The SA National Defence Force scoffs at social media comments on the alleged withdrawal of soldiers from Operation PROSPER.#SANDF#DCCMediaLiaison#JointOperationsDivision pic.twitter.com/9EPc8Vi10n
— SA National Defence Force (@SANDF_ZA) August 23, 2021
