EFF and the art of doublespeak

Julius Malema has a lot of cheek … and not the sort which he refuses to turn when fighting for the rights of the downtrodden.

Appearing in court in Randburg yesterday – for a postponement of a case of assault against him and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi – Malema played the victim, complaining that his life was being endangered because he was forced to appear in public in the midst of a pandemic.

He said: “Any court that requests us to appear without necessarily a trial is risking our lives and the lives of ordinary people.”

That point about the necessity of appearing in person for the formality of a trial postponement is indeed valid. And it would be worth considering had not Malema and his lieutenants been out and about across the country last week, venting their outrage outside Clicks stores about the racist hair adverts.

Clearly, coronavirus will cut you a bit of slack if you are fighting a righteous cause, but not if the authorities are trying to send you down… Hypocrisy and political opportunism are the hallmarks of the rabble-rousing EFF publicity machine, so this is to be expected.

What is sad is that so few will notice, or care about, the doublespeak.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.