ANC ‘cowards’ too ‘scared of whites’ to get land – Malema

Addressing a gathering in Mangaung, Free State, as part of a service delivery protest, EFF leader Julius Malema told a large crowd of supporters dressed in red that the ANC were “cowards” who were “scared of whites” and that this was why “whites take advantage of them and refuse to release the land”.

The EFF leader then said that his party only wanted to “share” the land and the wealth and that any white people who couldn’t accept this could “leave on their own”.

He then alleged that white peoples’ fears of him were not based on a fear of violence but on a fear of equality.

“White people know there will never be civil war in South Africa,” he said.

“White people know we will never kill them. They are only scared of the word equality.

READ MORE: Nzimande says Malema has no solutions, only slogans to shout

“In their eyes I am a lunatic, I am a criminal because I am asking for equality. That is the only crime I have committed,” he continued, adding that he believed white people couldn’t accept being “equal to monkeys”.

“That’s the problem they have because the first black person a white person saw when they opened their eyes was a domestic worker.

“When they started going outside their house they found a black gardener, when they went to the shops they found a shopkeeper being a black person, before a shopkeeper they found a security guard who’s a black person.”

Malema said he believed white people would only hold this view of black people “until they’ve met black people at their workplace who are [also] qualified”.

“So when you say to them you must be equal to blacks, they imagine all the blacks they know, that’s the only thing they’re scared of.

READ MORE: Malema’s white people ‘slaughter’ comments not hate speech – SAHRC

“I will never go to Hague, I will never go to International Criminal Court because there is no blood of a white person I’m going to draw, I am just going to pass a law saying from today you are not owning this.”

The politician is possibly reacting to allegations that he has been guilty of hate speech and inciting violence through utterances such as his telling a crowd of supporters in 2016 that he was “not calling for the slaughtering of white people – at least for now”.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) found that the comment, as well as others made by the EFF leader did not constitute hate speech, a decision which created a backlash and which minority rights lobby group AfriForum has vowed to appeal.

The EFF leader’s rhetoric turned racial only after he first had a go at the governing party, mentioning Ace Magashule, who was once premier of the Free State and is now ANC secretary general.

“We must take this government, terminate the tenders of the corrupt people who are linked to the gangster state of Magashule and start afresh, give the jobs to the people who are qualified,” he said.

He alleged that money in the province meant for anti-retroviral medication had been “stolen by the politically connected” and that government officials had made it difficult for potential Sassa grant beneficiaries to receive their money.

READ MORE: We will ‘relocate landless people’ to ‘whites-only places’ like Orania – EFF

He told the crowd things would be different under the EFF, who would make sure they didn’t “replace a tendency with the same tendency” and continue the alleged corruption.

“You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result,” he said by way of dissuading the crowd from voting for the ANC.

Malema’s speech can be seen here.

The march saw the party submit a memorandum of service delivery demands to Mangaung’s executive mayor Olly Mlamleli.

The memorandum featured a list of demands, including the insourcing of security guards and cleaners by local government.

WATCH CIC @Julius_S_Malema's address outside Mangaung Municipal Office #CICinFreeState https://t.co/AsHE94DHIP

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) April 30, 2019

The President South Africa and her people deserve, leading in song outside Mangaung Municipal Office.

SALUTE ✊🏿 #CICinFreeState#EFFFinalPush #VoteEFF #OurLandAndJobsNow pic.twitter.com/s6ZAD9H8WA

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) April 30, 2019

EFF service delivery March today, outside the Mangaung Municipal Office.

The EFF marched to submit a memorandum of service delivery demands to the Executive Mayor Olly Mlamleli. #CICinFreeState#EFFFinalPush #VoteEFF #OurLandAndJobsNow pic.twitter.com/bskI1tR8Pa

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) April 30, 2019

[In Pictures]: EFF service delivery March today in Mangaung.

The EFF marched to submit a memorandum of service delivery demands to the Executive Mayor Olly Mlamleli. #CICinFreeState#EFFFinalPush #VoteEFF #OurLandAndJobsNow pic.twitter.com/70mO9yUfmL

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) April 30, 2019

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