The African National Congress (ANC) has opted to remain silent on reports that the party’s Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula arrived at a recent party event on Robben Island in a luxurious yacht.
This apparent extravagant entrance took place on Wednesday ahead of the ANC's 113th anniversary celebrations in Khayelitsha, which were held on Saturday.
According to news reports, Mbalula's yacht arrival stunned fellow ANC leaders and observers alike during an event that was meant to reflect on the painful history of the party's members who had been incarcerated during the apartheid era.
Other ANC leaders used the Robben Island Museum ferry, Sikhululekile while President Cyril Ramaphosa was choppered onto the island for security reasons.
The solemn commemoration aimed to honour the political prisoners who spent years on the island, quickly became overshadowed.
The yacht in question reportedly belongs to tenderpreneur Fernando Acafrao, a businessman who has secured multiple multimillion-rand government contracts.
His company, Mobile Satellite Technologies, is known for providing mobile clinics to provincial governments.
The company has faced scrutiny in the past; in 2015, it was reported that two companies, including Mobile Satellite Technologies, were supposed to deliver four mobile health units to the KwaZulu-Natal health department but only succeeded in providing two, costing the province R61 million by August 2016.
This is not the first instance of Mbalula facing backlash for his extravagant lifestyle. Previously, he attracted criticism for campaigning in a R4 million bulletproof G-Wagon in Amaoti, an area rife with shanties, as South Africans questioned the appropriateness of such displays in impoverished communities.
Mbalula dismissed the criticism as a 'side show,' suggesting that no one should be judged by their mode of transport and urging the public to focus on substantive political issues instead.
Despite multiple attempts to elicit a response from ANC representatives, including spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri, no comments have been forthcoming regarding Mbalula's latest escapade at Robben Island.
Nevertheless, the public response has been swift and critical.
One social media user, Vusi Sambo, expressed his frustration, stating, “ANC celebrity Fikile Mbalula—who is known for his shameless love for showing off luxury and opulence—snubbed a Robben Island Museum ferry, Sikhululekile, that transported other top ANC leaders, media, and guests.”