WATCH: Chirwa says she’s still a proud EFF member despite being last on party candidate list

Despite an uncertain political future in the EFF, Naledi Chirwa said she has given the best years of her life to the party.

Chirwa’s fall from grace

Chirwa moved from number 30 on the EFF’s candidates list for parliament to number 200 ahead of this year’s elections. Her fall from grace came after her fallout with party leader Julius Malema over some public utterances Chirwa made.

ALSO READ: Social media reacts to Naledi Chirwa’s demotion to bottom of EFF list

Chirwa posted an apology on social media indicating that she couldn’t attend to some parliamentary sessions because she had to take care of her sick four-month-old child.

This sparked public sympathy for the politician, creating a PR nightmare for the EFF leadership who appeared heavy-handed on the young mother.

‘Golden years in the EFF’

But in an EFF podcast show on Friday, Chirwa said she was proud of her achievements in the party.  

“The most important decade of my life I have given to the EFF. I have given the golden years to the EFF and that investment on a personal level is the best investment I have done,” she said.

ALSO READ: Malema: ‘The letter’s inappropriate insinuations forced EFF into a defensive stance’

She said her legacy includes fighting for the African continent and wanting better for women.

“I contributed to the revolution, I contributed to wanting better for my country, I contributed for wanting better for the African continent, I contributed for wanting better for women, I contributed to wanting better black people. That was my position,” she said.

When things go wrong

Chirwa said she was prepared to give more years to the EFF.

“When anything goes wrong the people who are on speed dial are the very same people, we are brothers and sisters in here. We are colleagues, we are collegial as well. As much as we are in the revolution, there must be a certain level of professionalism that is maintained,” Chirwa said.

She is currently a member of the portfolio committee on health in parliament and is also responsible to activating youth structures in the EFF.

Despite her being last of the EFF’s parliamentary list, Malema denied that Chirwa was being punished for putting the party in the spotlight over its treatment of female MPs.

He said Chirwa had found herself at the bottom of the list as a result of democratic processes in the party. While newcomers to the party Mzwanele Manyi, Busisiwe Mkhwebane and Carl Niehaus found themselves in the top 50.

Watch Naledi Chirwa’s interview: