Kenny Kunene.
Businessman Kenny Kunene has been warned not to criticise President Jacob Zuma, he said in a statement published on a politics website.
Kunene said he had been told he would be "dealt with" after the flamboyant businessman published an open letter to Zuma last month, saying he been disillusioned with his leadership.
"We all know how tough life becomes once you dare to cross this government – just as [former director general in the presidency] Frank Chicane [sic], [former chief prosecutor] Vusi Pikoli, [prosecutor] Gerrie Nel and [prosecutor] Glynnis Breytenbach," Kunene said in a statement published on Politicsweb.
"Your reputation and your livelihood is constantly on the line … So I know to expect the worst. I've learnt from people like these what happens when you get charged. But how long are we going to continue allowing these people to scare us … I got so many calls from people warning me: 'They are going to deal with you.' People know this is a government that 'deals with people'. But is that something we are willing to just accept?"
Joining EFF
Kunene confirmed on Monday that he was joining the Economic Freedom Fighters alongside ousted ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema.
"I am like Paul, who used to be Saul, but saw the light on his way to Damascus. The life of sushi and my army of women I put behind me," Kunene said.
"I see this as a challenge and a blessing that God has given me to have so many followers to make sure I contribute to the development of young people."
He invited "all South Africans who are tired of being lied to, manipulated and treated with arrogance" to join the party.
"I am now going full-time into politics as a member and a revolutionary cadre of the Economic Freedom Fighters movement to make it a force to be reckoned with and to contest the next election. Why this movement? The answer is that the majority of people I have interacted with are telling me we need an alternative voice in this country that will be revolutionary.
"The formation of the Economic Freedom Fighters movement is therefore not the decision of Julius Malema, Floyd Shivambu or Kenny Kunene. It is the better, alternative voice of South Africans who are fed up with living without hope that things will ever change for the better," said Kunene. – Sapa