EFF leader Julius Malema
Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema has accused former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party of being disingenuous and trying to undermine the EFF under the guise of promoting a “black unity” agenda among opposition parties.
Zuma has been advocating for the unification of so-called black parties to challenge the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA) and previously said the proliferation of “black parties” has hindered the country’s progress and what he called the total liberation of black people.
On Wednesday Malema said Zuma was being hypocritical, given that his own MK party was founded quite recently (in December 2023).
“If you wanted to call for unity of people, you should have joined the EFF and not formed a parallel organisation,” Malema said outside the home of Presley Chweneyagae, where he had gone to pay his condolences following the actor’s death last week.
Malema questioned why the EFF was often the target of such calls for the unification of “black parties”.
“Why is this unity of black parties only directed at the EFF? They never complain that the ANC does not want to unite with them; they never complain that the Patriotic Alliance does not want to unite with them,” he said.
“Every time it’s the EFF. We are not going to allow that. You can see it’s not black unity; it’s an agenda to destroy the EFF. Why are they not giving you a report about black unity with the United Democratic Front or all these black formations that are there? We don’t buy into that story because it’s not genuine.”
Parties such as Xiluva, led by now MK party head of elections Bongani Baloyi, and the South African Rainbow Alliance, led by MK party parliamentary chief whip Colleen Makhubele, have dissolved and fallen under Zuma’s leadership. The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has also agreed to form a unity or working relationship with the MK party ahead of next year’s elections.
The relationship between the two parties soured last year over the defection to the MK party of former EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu, former national chair Dali Mpufu and Mzwanele Manyi. The exodus was all the more galling for the Red Berets, coming soon after the MK party, just months old at the time, had knocked the EFF from its position as South Africa’s third largest party in May 2024 general elections.
On Wednesday Malema said he would not work with Shivambu and did not want to involve himself in his problems, referring to the latter’s sacking on Tuesday as MK party secretary general over an unsanctioned trip to Malawi to visit fugitive pastor Shepherd Bushiri. Shivambu has been redeployed to parliament as an MP.
“Where was he going? He is not our problem. We are in parliament, we are working in parliament. If he comes into parliament, he will find us rolling,” Malema said of his former second-in-command’s fate.
“The parliament now is run by young people; young people are running that thing. If he comes there and thinks he can impose himself on them, they are already ready for him. You can be rest assured that he will not do anything to undermine the superior logic of the EFF in that parliament.”
Malema said his party would not be intimidated by the experience Shivambu brings to parliament for the MK party.
“If you are saying this person is going to be a holy spirit and be in every committee and boost the MK’s presence in those committees, it’s practically impossible,” he said.
“We do our work not because we want to outshine everyone but because we genuinely believe in this work and put a lot of effort into researching what we are going to speak about [in parliament].”