Insults fly after Cele claims EFF SG 'promised to make life difficult' if he didn’t confirm assassination plot

A war of words ensued on Tuesday during a joint sitting of the National Assembly and  National Council of Provinces which debated President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent state of the nation address (Sona).

Words including “coward”, “liar” and “pig” were exchanged between police minister Bheki Cele and EFF secretary-general (SG) Marshall Dlamini when Cele revealed Dlamini allegedly told him during an almost hour-long meeting that “life will be difficult for him”.

The two politicians were referring to a discussion they had about an alleged plot to assassinate Dlamini after the red berets claimed they had received intelligence reports from police that senior IFP leaders in were plotting to kill Dlamini. 

When Cele took to the podium to deliver his remarks at the Cape Town City Hall, he revealed that last Wednesday, before the Sona, he had a long meeting with Dlamini at his house.

“[It was] A very long meeting with him and he was there to urge me and beg me to confirm I had said the IFP will kill him. When I refused, he promised me life is going to be difficult for me,” he said.

Turning his attention to the leader of the EFF, Cele said to Julius Malema: “So, president of the EFF, you were lied to. You must be angry but not with me. It’s not me who lied to you and put you on national TV to tell the world the wrong thing. It wasn’t me. You go and correct it with your SG. I spent 47 minutes with him and then I refused.”

Dlamini raised a point of order, demanding “to address this coward of the ANC”.

Cele sat while Dlamini addressed him, saying: “The question he should be responding to is: ‘Did he not call me last Saturday and not the other way around?’ And his call was very clear: ‘SG, I have detected political intolerance in KwaZulu-Natal that is going to lead to killings.’

“My question to that was: ‘Minister, does it involve me?’ I proposed we meet in Cape Town on Wednesday. If he is scared of the IFP, he must not use my name. He is scared of the IFP. He called me, not the other way around.”

House chair Amos Masondo told Dlamini this was not a point of order

Dlamini retorted: “It is a point of order. I am addressing the coward. I am not scared of him or anyone else. He is scared of the IFP. I am not scared of anyone.”

Masondo told Dlamini to take his seat and asked Cele to proceed.

Cele said: “I did not have drink and juice to give to you, but the meeting was quite long, 47 minutes. I am sorry you didn’t get anything to drink.”

Later, Malema told MPs he was not given an opportunity and respond on the matter because he was told to withdraw.

“This is abuse of this house but unlike him, I have said this in public and I will say it again. I am not scared that I brought it to his attention when crime intelligence wanted to implicate [EFF deputy president] Floyd [Shivambu] in Hillary’s [Gardee] murder.

“I told him they told crime intelligence the suspects said they must implicate Floyd and I told even the president. And him being involved in the possible assassination of Floyd, he knows that. And I will repeat it in public (sic).”

Masondo called the MPs to order and asked Cele to proceed with his address.

“Honorable members, the rules state no member can take the floor and speak unless a presiding officer says so. So please sit down,” he said, pleading with MPs to stop using points of orders to make speeches.

Cele said the third point he wanted to make was that “I will never allow the police service to be another Polokwane, where you will milk it down and make sure it dies. I will never allow that to happen.

“That will take care of it and you make sure you stay far, you don’t come to ruin that organisation [the police service] (sic).”

Cele said the one thing he had one thing in common with Malema is they were both raised by their grandmothers. “But my grandmother told me when a pig takes your banana to the pig sty, don’t follow it. Allow the pig to swim alone in that muddy sty.”

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