Carl Niehaus, spokesman for the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA), has confirmed that he was hospitalised with Covid-19.
Noting that his life was in danger – and was saved by the diligence of the medical staff at Milpark Hospital – he said that he had delayed making his condition public. He explained this as follows: ‘I did so because I realized that there are those in our society who would in hatred have celebrated my illness, and even wanted me to die. At the time when I was gravely ill I did not want to deal with such viciousness. Now that I am on the road to recovery, I can end my silence.’
He went on to claim that during his illness, he was subjected to a ‘well-coordinated aggressive propaganda smear campaign’ by ‘White Monopoly Capital’ media. He also attacked the Deputy Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC), Jessie Duarte, for ‘attacking’ him while he was ill. This was ‘unnecessary and callous’.
‘I will continue to speak my mind as a loyal member of the ANC, regardless of the personal pain, callousness, and terrible consequences, that even some comrades inflict on one,’ he wrote.
Niehaus has been a controversial and somewhat divisive figure in the ANC, following scandals around money and false claims of qualifications. He and the MKMVA have been strongly aligned with former president Jacob Zuma and the so-called Radical Economic Transformation group in the ANC.