Malema says there’s no anti-Ramaphosa plot – but Cyril won’t last anyway

Speaking outside the High Court in Pretoria on Thursday evening following his challenge of the apartheid-era Riotous Assemblies Act, EFF leader Julius Malema weighed in on the supposed plot being cooked up against President Cyril Ramaphosa.

He started off by dismissing the idea that former president Jacob Zuma and his allies were engaged in a plot to oust Ramaphosa, before then discussing the apparent fact that Ramaphosa’s enemies were in fact working “day and night” to get rid of him.

In one breath, he accused Ramaphosa of being paranoid, while in the next warned that Ramaphosa would not last because of the small margin he’d won the ANC presidency by.

Malema: Ramaphosa will not last as the President. Those ANC guys are working day and night to remove him because you must remember, he won by a small margin.

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) September 20, 2018

He was referring to a Sunday Times report that suggested earlier this month that a meeting at a Durban hotel between ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, Zuma, former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo and the ANC Women’s League secretary-general Meokgo Motuba was evidence of “plotting” against Ramaphosa as part of a fightback effort by Zuma and his supporters in the ANC.

Malema said: “There is no plot against Ramaphosa. That’s what all the ANC presidents do. They claim there is a plot so that they can misuse state resources. I mean, who can threaten Ramaphosa? Ramaphosa is even so scared of Zuma that he is even willing to pay for his legal costs.”

He questioned the report as evidence of “white-owned media” being in cahoots with Ramaphosa and that the report did not make sense.

“We cannot allow the white-owned media to tell us who can meet who. Why would they meet at a hotel to discuss a plot when Zuma has a bunker in Nkandla?”

He alleged that the report was smoke and mirrors that he said he could relate to personally. He went on to allege that the president could attempt to use such reports to “abuse” state resources, such as state intelligence, to fight his enemies.

“I was accused of plotting with Bheki Cele, so I know how this plot thing works. Ramaphosa is paranoid and colluding with Pravin [Gordhan] to abuse state resources. They want us to see Ramaphosa as a victim but he is not.”

Malema went on to allege that “Indian journalists” such as Qaanitah Hunter, who had written the report, were working hand in glove with Gordhan to further his and Ramaphosa’s agenda.

“They use state institutions to settle scores. They use state institutions to intimidate and silent their opponents. Ramaphosa must know that if he wants to use the same dirty tactics of Zuma, then he will never have peace in that parliament,” Malema was quoted as saying by the EFF’s official Twitter account.

“An injustice will never prevail over justice. A war is coming; this country is run by Pravin and Pravin is run by the Stellenbosch mafias. Those people are more dangerous are Zuma. And they control senior Indian journalists and senior white journalists.”

Earlier in his speech, Malema had touched on the fact that land expropriation would continue whether he was jailed or not. He also pointed out the difference, in his view, between white people in general and “white monopoly capital”, which he said was the true enemy since it controlled the means of production.

“The enemy of our revolution is not white people, the enemy is white monopoly capital. What is white monopoly capital? Owners of means of productions. What are the means of production? The banks, mines, land and any other thing that is strategic sector in our economy.”

Malema alleges that the ANC under Ramaphosa and Gordhan is collaborating with white monopoly capital.

“The only way to respond to this white monopoly capital [threat] is to be on the ground. We must build strong and steady branches. The only way to defeat the cabal is by reducing the power of the ANC to under 50% in Gauteng.”

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