Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema claimed the red berets has been infiltrated by double agents, with former founding members being turned and captured ahead of the national elective conference in December.
Malema was addressing the Gauteng Provincial General Assembly in the East Rand on Sunday.
The EFF leader’s embattled party has been hit with a leadership exodus, with big names, including Floyd Shivambu, Mzwanele Manyi, Busisiwe Mkhwebane and Dali Mpofu, crossing over to former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party with more departures rumoured.
On Sunday, EFF founding member Alfred Motsi was the latest red berets leader to make the move, returning to his spiritual MK home.
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Malema told delegates that they must guard against “infiltration, individualism and maintain revolutionary discipline.”
He said the “orchestrated organizational decay in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) before the May 29 elections, constitutes a “clear example of infiltration.”
Malema warned that factionalism, disunity and disloyalty will not be tolerated ahead of the party’s third National People’s Assembly (NPA) to be held in Johannesburg next month.
“The EFF has most recently experienced dangerous levels of infiltration, because this infiltration has been perpetuated by founders of this movement who were converted into sleeper agents and double agents, who sat amongst us but reported elsewhere
“The people who have left this organization have not only led this infiltration and betrayal, but even had the audacity to prescribe to us how we must perceive and respond to their infiltration. To defect from the organization you founded, in favour of an organization that has just recently surpassed your own organization in elections, is opportunism,” Malema said.
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Malema said the EFF was put under pressure by those who left the party.
“The leadership standing in front of you today, were put under immense pressure by those who have left us behind, to write petitions to the ANC and ostensibly the “GNU”, for inclusion in their compromised government, which is led by the descendants of settler colonialists and white supremacists.
“We were pressured to do so because there was a strong desire for positions, at the expense of our principles of anti-racism and the return of the land,” Malema said,
Malema told delegate they are the “shield that will protect the integrity of EFF”
Malema emphasised that it is the sworn duty of members to stand up and protect and “defend the revolution” when the EFF and its leadership are “unfairly attacked” in public or in private.
“This movement and its leadership are the custodians of the revolution. The fact that we are heading third national assembly, does not mean that we no longer have a leadership, that anarchy must prevail.
“Until the electoral committee dissolves the central command team…this organisation remains led and this leadership will guide you throughout this process alongside your provincial leaders.,” Malema said.
Malema said there is “no old person, referring to uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK) leader Jacob Zuma who is going to unite black people in South Africa.”
“Only the EFF can unite black people in South Africa. How do you say you can unite people when you are 82 years old, having failed to unite them for the past 82 years… you think you can do it now?”
Malema said the EFF is not going to capitulate to Zuma.
“We are not going to sell the future generation for the dreams of an 82-year-old man who is corrupt to the core. We are going to fight corruption under Jacob Zuma and even after Zuma.
“Zuma is corrupt; we were not misled about the corruption of Zuma. Cyril Ramaphosa is corrupt, we were not misled about the corruption of Cyril Ramaphosa. And we don’t just talk about fighting corruption – we will be on the streets on Tuesday to fight Phala Phala,” Malema said.
The EFF will hold its elective conference from the 13th to the 15th of December at Nasrec, in Johannesburg.
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