United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader and Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Bantu Holomisa, clashed with a caller and host Alex Mthiyane during a live interview on Gagasi FM.
The fiery exchange shocked listeners and forced the host to cut the discussion short.
The confrontation began when a listener phoned in, accusing Holomisa of arrogance.
“I’m noticing that the general is arrogant,” the caller said, criticising Holomisa’s earlier remarks that questioned a previous caller’s upbringing and language.
The listener argued that such comments amounted to discrimination.
Holomisa Fires Back
Holomisa dismissed the criticism and replied: “This is a compliment if you are saying I’m arrogant. You are also arrogant.”
When the caller pressed him further, accusing him of being “useless,” Holomisa snapped: “Thank you very much, you didn’t vote for me, go to hell.”
Host Tries to Calm Tensions
Mthiyane intervened, asking Holomisa to retract his remarks. “General, you are a deputy minister… I’m going to ask you to retract that particular phrase,” he said.
Holomisa refused, insisting the caller had disrespected him. “If you are not satisfied, go to hell as well. He’s swearing at me, and you are not protecting me,” Holomisa argued.
Caller Escalates Criticism
The caller continued to criticise Holomisa, saying: “I’m a bit disappointed that we have leaders like you. That is why we have issues at Goma and at the borders, it’s because we have people like you.”
After 30 minutes, Mthiyane ended the interview, thanking Holomisa for his time but cutting the conversation short.
“Deputy minister, let me release you there, we will not continue with this conversation anymore but we thank you for having been with us,” he said.
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