EFF leader Julius Malema speaks to supporters in the Northern Cape. Picture: EFF/X
EFF leader Julius Malema has hit back at critics who have long labelled him a dictator leading a political cult.
He told supporters at a Birthday celebration rally in Kimberley, Northern Cape, over the weekend that unlike newer parties the EFF had elected its leader.
“All parties that were formed after the EFF have not gone to conference, but the EFF is a ‘cult organisation’.
“‘Herman Mashaba formed a party but has not gone to a conference. Gayton [McKenzie] and Kenny Kunene started a party straight, without a conference. But we are a cult? That is a cult!
“Malema is subjected to democratic processes of the EFF, yet he is called a cult [leader].”
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He said there were attempts to destroy and silence him.
“They will never succeed”.
The party will hold an elective conference in December, where Malema is expected to run for re-election.
He has led the party since its formation in 2013 and told SABC News in 2021 that he would remain at the helm for as long as the party wants him.
“My intention is to leave when I am 55. Remember, I came into this thing when I was nine. I’m not here to stay forever. I want my kids to have a life of their own, I want my family to have a life of their own and for as long as I am where I am, they will always be Julius Malema’s children …” he said.
The EFF got just over 3 million, or 9.5%, of the total votes cast in May’s election.
While this was more than the 1.8 million votes it got nationally in 2019, its share of the votes dropped by 1.3%. It was also down from 10.3% of the total votes in the 2021 local government elections.
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Malema said “Heads will roll” in regions where the EFF has failed to garner enough support.
“The comrades of Limpopo and North West must account. We will not sit back and reward laziness. We must punish laziness and factionalism. People must earn their seat at the dinner table.”
He said leaders who had failed to get 10% of votes in their ward would not be allowed at the party’s conference.
“The unity of the EFF comes first. Even if your branch is in good standing, you are not coming to the conference. Who are you representing? Sit at home. If you want to come to an EFF gathering go work hard.”
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