An Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) councillor who is accused of spreading hateful comments via a fake Twitter account is now in higher office after his party bosses paved the way for him to become a member of Parliament.

Anthony Matumba, a former councillor who hails from the Makhado Local Municipality in Limpopo, is alleged to be the person behind the fake Twitter account "@Tracy Zille", which was used to spread disparaging, racist and hateful comments.

On Tuesday, Matumba told News24 about the development but at the time, he could not give further details.

On Wednesday, National Assembly Speaker presided over his swearing-in and that of a fellow EFF member.

The swearing-in was confirmed on the EFF's social media accounts.

The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) took Matumba to the Equality Court in Louis Trichardt after it received a complaint from a member of the public about tweets from the Twitter account.

Complaint

The Twitter account reportedly emerged in June 2020 and had more than 30 000 followers when the SAHRC received the complaint.

But in court papers, Matumba denied that he was behind the account.

He said there were no witnesses to prove the connection between him and the account.

The SAHRC said it was reported that Matumba was generating an income from making disparaging and inflammatory comments online through companies he owned and registered to which social media users were directed.

The SAHRC wants Matumba to donate R20 000 to a charitable organisation, expressly with victims of gender-based violence.