EFF says ‘insane individuals’ from ANC in North West are plotting to kill Malema

In a statement on Tuesday night, the Economic Freedom Fighters said they were taking an alleged assassination plot against their president, Julius Malema, very seriously.

Acting spokesperson Tebogo Mokwele said they had been alerted to “nefarious and evil plans to assassinate the Commander in Chief and President of the Economic Freedom Fighter” and were “not taking the threats lightly”.

On Twitter, the anonymous Twitter account @AdvBarryRoux has been tweeting details about the alleged plot.

In their statement, the EFF said: “The covert plans come from reliable sources who indicate that a small group of politically insecure and insane individuals from the North West Province have approached drug dealers and assassins in different provinces, particularly in the Western Cape, to assassinate the EFF President.

“The threats from this group of politically insecure and insane individuals are informed by the fact that the EFF is on the verge of politically defeating the ANC in the North West Province, and other provinces in the upcoming general elections. These threats are real and should not be taken lightly because the North West is one of the provinces known for mysterious and unresolved political killings.

“These security threats also form part of several threats coming from right-wing forces, who use social media, private caller identities, and fake emails platforms to pose death threats against the leadership of the EFF. These threats are largely linked to the EFF’s uncompromising and decisive leadership of the struggle for land expropriation without compensation and the relentless war against racism.”

Mokwele said they had alerted Police Minister Bheki Cele to the death threats and expected action to be taken. They had also strengthened their internal security.

“We are aware that cowards, who have no convincing alternate political programme against the EFF, are now resorting to thoughts of violent and fatal suppression of a genuine political alternative.”

Mokwele then directly cast aspersions on the ANC.

“The ruling party is known for internal political killings to suppress its own members and activists, and it looks like they now intend to export the political killings to other political parties.”

The party called on the ANC to control its members and “educate them that in a democratic society, violence should not be an option. Politics should always be about presenting superior logic, solutions and alternatives and not on who has resources to hire assassins to suppress alternative views and organisations. The ruling party must also prepare their members that there soon will emerge a period where they are not government and therefore not in control of resources, which they thus far have been spectacularly misused. Democracy means that from time to time, ordinary citizens should be allowed to choose government of their own with no threat of violence and retribution.

“The EFF cautions the ruling party and all right wing forces that resorting to violence will degenerate the peace, which came through a very painful and difficult transition period in South Africa. Politics in South Africa and everywhere in the world must never be defined by violent and fatal suppression of alternate views and perspectives. There are many challenges confronting South Africa today, and focus should be on these challenges and not violent and fatal suppression of alternatives.”