Mixed emotions swept the streets of X (formerly Twitter) after the ANC Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, announced the passing of his daughter. However, it was later revealed by the minister that he was not referring to his biological child.
Due to the confusion, many assumed it to be Fikile’s daughter Mbalila who had passed away after the former Minister of Transport wrote the following on his social media page on Monday morning:
“[I] am hurt today. They killed my daughter, [I] am hurt.”
Am hurt today They killed my daughter am hurt.?
— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) March 25, 2024
The post, which had been viewed over one million times, received many messages of condolences from internet users. Some also shared they were not going to sympathise with Fikile as the unfortunate circumstance is what an “average South African is experiencing every day in this country.”
Almost 30 minutes later, Fikile returned to the app to clarify who had died. Sharing a picture of the deceased, X users saw that he was referring to a woman named Keletile ‘Kelly’ Mathata.
“This is my daughter working in my office,” Fikile stated. “Kelly was working in my office, in the Secretary-General’s office. She was killed today [Monday].”
Fikile did not elaborate on the manner in which Kelly was killed.
This is my daughter working in my office. pic.twitter.com/rh25aMH4oD
— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) March 25, 2024
After clarification was provided as a result of the confusion, among the condolence messages, many shared they thought the minister was seeking attention.
An X user commented, “It’s a fact, Mbalula is a childish attention seeker. I feel sorry for people who call this guy a leader. A person who chases clout with someone’s death.”
“Trying to distract us from the electoral court ruling. So low of you Fikile,” stated one X user.
Another internet user blamed the political party for Kelly’s death, sharing, “Your ANC made South Africa a crime scene and now you lost a loved one because you did nothing about it and continue to do nothing. Now we must resonate with your sadness, what about my family who were victims of crime?”
Also see: ‘UMkhonto Wesizwe belongs to ANC’ – Fikile Mbalula on taking MK to court
