Durban — A social media post alleging that two Delangokubona SA Business Forum members were shot dead in a shoot-out at a construction site recently, has gone viral
The Facebook post alleges the Delangokubona members were shot and killed in Gauteng.
Who are the Delangokubona, the post asked. “People who arrive once you’ve received a tender and want to share (it), otherwise, they will stop the work. They arrived at the construction site with that story. There was an argument and a shoot-out,” it read.
In a statement, Delangokubona national chairperson Thabani Mzulwini said the forum was angered by the trending post claiming two of its members were shot. The post appears to have originated on Facebook.
Mzulwini said that they wanted it to be known that the Delangokubona SA Business Forum, also known as Delangokubona, was a registered entity that subscribes to legislative mandates of the land.
The organisation comprised general members who joined it voluntarily after paying subscriptions. All membership records are kept and can be verified through the national executive committee.
He said that it was not true that members of their organisation had been involved in any shooting, either on Friday or on any other recent day. They viewed the post as malicious misinformation intended to ruin the good reputation of their organisation, that was earned from their principled approach in the fight for radical economic transformation in the country.
“It is an undeniable fact that the economic distribution of our country remains skewed and in favour of the descendants of white colonial settlers with the vast majority of native black people languishing in poverty. It is our organisation that pioneered and championed the plight of black contractors who had been systematically excluded and blocked from participating in the construction of their country,” Mzulwini said.
“This has unfortunately made some people think that anyone who emulates what we do or registers a desire to be given space to flourish in the construction industry, is a Delangokubona. This assumption is wrong, disingenuous, malicious and provocative. We call upon the author of the message to desist from spreading fake news using our name.”
Mzulwini added that while they have not been able to find out if the alleged incident took place they wanted to emphasise that “Africans respect life and mourn death” and that it was “unAfrican to spread fake news about the dead”.
“We would not allow our name to be dragged into the mud and cause confusion for mourning families. It is in that spirit that, working on the assumption that the said post is reporting about a real incident that truly took place, we express our sincere condolences to the bereaved families and recommit ourselves to work tirelessly as we have done over the years to fight for an economic, just environment that will create wealth and harmony for all people of South Africa across gender and colour divides,” Mzulwini said.
He called upon society at large to shun “fame-seekers who spread misinformation” and never retweet or share unverified, false information.
Daily News