National spokesperson of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said the party was looking into a matter that allegedly involves one of its members.

A screenshot bearing what appears to be the name of EFF member Thabo Mabotja is making the rounds on social media. In the screenshot are the words “All white people must be hacked and killed”. Mabotja could not be immediately reached for comment regarding the matter. The Independent Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) was also reportedly trying to contact him to summon him for an official investigation, but could also not locate him on Thursday.

Ndlozi said the party was aware of the incident, but they were still looking into the factuality of the matter.

“Well, as you would know, we are going to familiarise ourselves with the facts of the case.”

The party spokesperson said he was in a rally and could not comment further on the matter and advised The Citizen to send an SMS – which he didn’t respond to bydeadline.

If the IEC can positively linkhim to the post, he will be expected to answer for it in the Electoral Court.

According to eNCA reporter Thulasizwe Simelane, EFF leader Julius Malema has distanced himself and the party from Mabotja’s comments, saying “he’s on his own”.

Picture: Web screenshot

DA leader Mmusi Maimane also weighed in on the matter, saying it was not the job of the IEC to investigate the matter.

“Surely it’s not just the job of the IEC – why does the party associate itself with these statements?” said Maimane.

“Look out for the #EFF‘s Julius Malema’s response to #ThaboMabotja‘s alleged FB racism. @XoliMngambi spoke to him. Basically ‘he’s on his own’,” Simelane tweeted.

In a separate case from earlier this year, another man who took to Facebook to call for the “cleansing” of white people from South Africa has been reinstated in his provincial government job after being suspended on full pay.

In the wake of Penny Sparrow comparing black people to monkeys, Velaphi Khumalo took to Facebook in January to write: “We must act as Hitler did to the Jews. I don’t believe any more that the is a large number of not so racist whit people. I’m starting to be sceptical even of those within our Movement the ANC. I will from today unfriend all white people I have as friends from today u must be put under the same blanket as any other racist white because secretly u all are a bunch of racist f**k heads. as we have already seen [all sic],” he wrote.

The department of sport and recreation in Gauteng gave him a final warning and he is back in his job as a sports marketer.