Julius Malema has seemingly taken a sly dig against Andile Lungisa‚ who he defeated politically when they were both leaders of the ANC Youth League back in 2010‚ as well as another controversial member of the ruling party.

Malema‚ who split from the ANC to lead the opposition EFF‚ tweeted overnight: "Be strong my brother @mrlungisa‚ I will visit you soon. We don’t have to agree on everything in order to call each other family. Remain strong and if you feel discouraged and demoralized‚ please remember our brother @tyengeni1954‚ for strength."

Lungisa has been jailed for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm‚ after he hit a Port Elizabeth councillor with a glass water jug during a heated council meeting in October 2016. He is serving an effective two years direct jail term‚ with the magistrate citing the potential danger of the attack and Lungisa's lack of remorse.

Yengeni‚ an ANC veteran and former party chief whip‚ was found guilty of fraud in 2003 in a case linked to South Africa’s controversial arms deal.

He had failed to disclose to parliament that he obtained a 47% discount on a Mercedes-Benz SUV. He served four months of a four-year sentence.

An arrest for drunk driving in 2007‚ in which Yengeni was arrested while allegedly out drinking at midnight in contravention of his parole conditions‚ led to charges being dropped after then-Goodwood police station commander Siphiwo Hewana reportedly allowed an unknown person access to his blood sample. Hewana was later convicted of attempting to defeat the ends of justice

Some of Malema's followers on Twitter commented on what they saw as his sarcasm while others took a positive spin on his words.