Malema explains how he and ‘fellow fighters’ should kill racists

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema may have found himself at the centre of controversy for past comments, such as one saying that he was “not calling for the slaughtering of white people, at least for now” and one saying that his party was “cutting the throat of whiteness“, but on Thursday morning a clearly more pacifist Malema briefed his “fellow fighters” on a way to “kill” racists that doesn’t involve any violence at all.

According to Malema, racists don’t want to see him and his fellow fighters “happy and united”.

His solution? “Let’s kill them with black success.”

Malema and his fellow EFF members have been criticised in the past for openly displaying wealth, which some of their detractors say is at odds with their socialist, pro-poor agenda.

They are regularly accused of hypocrisy for what some perceive as a disconnect between their manifesto and lifestyles, but both Malema and his second-in-command Floyd Shivambu have defended themselves, saying the backlash is due to jealousy over the idea of black success.

The EFF strongly associates itself with the poor, even trying to “resemble” them by dressing like construction workers and domestic workers, but has been accused of living a lavish lifestyle behind the scenes, such as the recent case of Daily Maverick publishing an article looking into the contents of trash allegedly left out by EFF members.

Heaps of expensive bottles of liquor were found, in total 37 bottles. The fighters allegedly spent at least R25,000 on French Champagne brands such as Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon. A bottle of Veuve Clicquot retails for about R600 and Moët Nectar Imperial will set you back around R700. Bottles of Glenfiddich whisky (special edition at R1,500 a bottle) were also found.

READ MORE: EFF laughed at for drinking Rupert & Rothschild wines at gala dinner

The report was controversial, with some saying it was selective, vindictive, and represented “trash journalism” – something author Marianne Thamm owned up to in the piece itself.

While some have suggested that to care about the poor doesn’t mean one has to be poor oneself as a defence of the EFF’s apparent penchant for the high life, others have agreed the party is hypocritical, including former EFF member and Black First, Land First leader Andile Mngxitama, who published a scathing statement after it was reported that the party had enjoyed Rupert & Rothschild wines – produced by their supposed enemies – at a function.

This proved the EFF was unprincipled and subservient to whites, Mngxitama wrote at the time.

“The same EFF that claims to be revolutionary and wears overalls in Parliament, dines in Gucci and drinks Rupert’s wine at night. There are many black-owned wine brands that need exposure and support, which the EFF could have promoted, but just like the African National Congress, they put white people first and support white businesses for their own personal gain.”

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman.) 

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