Spouting hatred in the presence of mourning families at Marikana was a despicable act, even for a man familiar with the depths of intolerance and hypocrisy. Julius Malema's is a voice we don't need to hear, a bark we've grown tired of because it contributes little to our present conversation.
Mind you, neither do we need smiling kleptomaniacs who evaded justice, lurking in the burdened hallways of government. We don't need useless bureaucrats and morally bankrupt businessmen robbing us all blind.
We deserve better, the families of Marikana deserve better, they've paid the ultimate price for better.
If the aborted launch of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) was not a clear signal of Malema's waning influence, then maybe the recent resignation of Kenny Kunene from EFF leadership will convince Juju that his political credit has been maxed out. If even the sushi king can't see a business opportunity in Malema – it's game over.
Speaking during the Marikana massacre commemoration event on Friday, Malema said it was only in South Africa where the government could massacre 34 people and no one takes responsibility.
Malema further said that Lonmin and President Jacob Zuma were behind the killing of mineworkers at Marikana.
"You got blood on your hands, innocent blood," he said to applause.
And then he refused to sit down when his three minutes of allocated time expired.
Malema's outbursts over the years have littered the already putrid gutters of our political discourse; our daily experience of a system so horribly inept it couldn't prevent the massacre of 34 human beings a year ago when all the warning signs were there. What, 10 bodies was not enough?
Calling Zuma a dictator last year was another priceless soundbite and front-page headline, but Malema's political rhetoric these days is so acerbic it renders anything touched by him unpalatable.
Not that we for one minute believe that the government/ANC, the police or Lonmin are completely innocent in all of this Marikana madness. Time and money will tell – assuming there is money to allow the families to find justice. The poor and meek are easy pickings for predators such as Malema who have already proved they can say the right things even if it means your need to mourn your loved one is no longer relevant.
"I am a politician. If you invite me I will speak politics. I am not going to speak for three minutes," he told Dali Mpofu who directed the programme.
This is why we don't need Malema casting his shadow against our political spectrum. He does not only ruffle feathers as some would have us believe – he disrupts the lives of people with enough hardship to bear to such an extent that it only serves his own maniacal purpose. He manipulated a very tragic event in August last year and again a most solemn ceremony last Friday to laud his lust for political revenge over a widow's grief and a child's pain. Beware of the man with nothing more to lose.
Why did the congregation applaud him then, you ask. Why wouldn't they? The people of Marikana have been silenced – if not physically through fear mongering then through the slow churn of the Farlam commission where their pain is safely funnelled and curated by government machinery. Their pain has been corralled for the benefit of those who are culpable, and for us who were never there to witness the blood and gore of August 16 2012 first hand.
Why wouldn't they applaud a man such as Malema who arrives like a knight in shining Range Rover? He's the only one holding the damned microphone. He's the only one vaguely saying what they would say given half a chance. Malema needs no invitation to talk about his own personal struggles and settle political scores, and that's precisely what makes him dangerous.
He bleats on about nationalisation and land grabs. Over and over again. "Nationalise the mines! Take back the land! Nationalise the mines! Take back the land!" That debate is neither here nor there. It is irrelevant in the context of what Malema has to offer, because he will not debate it, he wants to bash us over the head with it. He will not provide any substantive argument or research to support his theory, because he hasn't done his homework.
Yes, we enjoy the half-truths Malema speaks to power and we the media will go out of our way to make excuses for him, because we want the clicks on our websites and let's face it, if Malema can't sell newspapers no one else is going to. But we need Malema to stop his political busking act right now.
Malema is a caricature of the man he once wanted us to believe he was, with his red beret and fake title "commander in chief", he is literally a political joker.
The politics of Mandela; nation-building, development and social justice is somehow lost in the mud being flung from bitter cast aways and corrupt government officials. Malema's poisoned tongue just clouds our thoughts and distracts us from the real issues at hand. Worse still – whatever Malema has to say these days, it's fucking boring.