This follows an earlier call by the party urging government to welcome Mugabe into the country, a suggestion which was opposed by the Democratic Alliance, citing human rights violations alleged to have been committed by the Zimbabwean president.
EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi responded to the DA in a statement on Friday with the “disgust and contempt it deserves”.
“The DA basis its rejection of political asylum on the legal argument that President Mugabe does not qualify for political asylum under our immigration laws since he is suspected of human rights violations,” Ndlozi said.
“This is despite the fact that no court of law in the world has ever found President Mugabe guilty of human rights violation, neither are there any credible courts in the world that have put such allegations against him.”
Ndlozi also accused the DA of being hypocrites and says the party is also home to “apartheid politicians” who have never been held accountable for their crimes.
“The DA’s rejection of political asylum to Mugabe is hypocritical because as a party they themselves house many apartheid politicians and bureaucrats who facilitated and sustained the worst forms of crimes against humanity,” he said.
“These characters have never been held responsible within our law in relation to their role under apartheid because our people chose peace and reconciliation over vengeance.”
He also attributed the DA’s position on Mugabe to seeking vengeance for white farmers who were forcibly removed from their farms in Zimbabwe in the late ’90s.
“In the name of the properties of these whites, DA wants South Africa to reject Mugabe as a form of punishment,” Ndlozi added.
“Many DA adults are beneficiaries of inhuman forced removals of black people that occurred under apartheid and colonial times. Their families continue to live in neighbourhoods in South Africa that are a result of these forced removals.
“This includes over 80% of DA voters who are white people living in a land attained through a crime against humanity; colonisation and apartheid, yet nobody to this day has demanded vengeance against them, including denial of basic rights.”
To read the full statement click here.
