Government must give churches land, says Malema

“When we came here in 2014, they wanted to demolish this church because they claimed the land did not belong to the church. The Mayor was supposed to meet with the Bishop and understand that the Bishop wanted to create a safe haven for the people of this community”, he said.

Malema went on to say that church leaders should identify land and approach local government to request to use it. He says that government cannot say no without a good reason.

The EFF leader also pledged his support for the church. “We must never isolate the church, it is an important part of our society. Pastors and Bishops do not ask for much, they ask for the benefit of the community as a whole”, he said.

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He continued, “When you build a church, you are not building for the pastor or the congregants, you are building for the community as a whole”.

He urged his audience to fight for land. “The coloniser did not come to take your wife or husband, they took your land. Even now, you cannot open your own business because you cannot afford rent on the land they claim to be theirs. They do not want you to have the land because they do not want you to prosper”.

Malema: When we came here in 2014, they wanted to demolish this church because they claimed the land did not belong to the church. The Mayor was supposed to meet with the Bishop and understand that the Bishop wanted to create a safe haven for the people of this community. pic.twitter.com/dG1W4xhgSU

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) June 3, 2018

“But we were fighting for the land. People voted for the ANC because they were fighting for the land. The founding principle of the revolution was the land because the land is everything”.

Malema also said that he was glad he did not listen to his elders, who were religious, when they tried to discourage his political activities.

“I grew up with my grandmother because my mother, a strong believer, used to tell me I would die from running around with the struggle. When at school they wanted to suspend me, she would agree but my grandmother would question if expelling a child is a way to discipline”.

“I know my mother did what she did because she was afraid for my life but had I listened to her, I would not be where I am. She did all she did because no parent would surrender their child to the brutal system of apartheid”.

“But your parents ideas are not your ideas. They say you are disrespectful because they love you and fear for your life”.

Malema also made comments about the treatment of women in South Africa, urging the Bishop of the Church to pray for women to be treated respectfully by men.

#EFF #Malema says there's no justifiable reason you can give for killing a woman and they say they provoked walk away, don't use violence to fight and there are peaceful solutions and I'm talking because people pay attention to church.

— Khayelihle Rafiq Percy Khumalo-James Jnr (@KhayaJames) June 3, 2018