IT is said that 90% of politicians give the other 10% a bad name. Which is perhaps generous. Good politicians, the American journalist HL Mencken noted, are as unthinkable as honest burglars.
Then there’s the low-level entity that is Carl Niehaus, now back to bother us as a member of the MK Military Veterans Association’s national executive.
Such was the chorus of surprised gasps at Niehaus’s return to public life that the association’s president, Kebby Maphatsoe, was moved to suggest that the former ANC NEC member should not be judged by his controversial past.
“No one is perfect in the ranks of the ANC and MK,” Maphatsoe told the African News Agency last month. Which is certainly true where Niehaus is concerned.
“So you’re here raising Carl’s credibility? Do not take lightly that he is just a fraudster, no. We are very proud of his struggle credentials, that is why we elected him to the MKMVA NEC and hope he will do good work for the association … he is a communication commissar.”
He’s a liar, is what he is, and a pro at that. He lies even when he doesn’t need to, just to keep his hand in, and he’s been very busy in recent weeks.