Zuma was elected because ANC male leaders were scared of Winnie, says Malema

During a visit this afternoon to the late anti-apartheid icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s house, EFF leader Julius Malema took the opportunity to clear the air on statements that he “brought Zuma to the country”.

“All of this nonsense would not have happened. Many people who don’t know the history of this country who read comments in The Sowetan say Zuma was brought by Malema. Zuma was brought by men who were scared of a woman in Mafikeng.

“There would not have been an animal called Zuma if they were not scared of Winnie. The mother of the nation would have restored the dignity of the nation,” Malema told his supporters in Orlando West.

“She died a leader of our nation, she died with her integrity intact. Even when she was in isolation, she never befriended the enemy. She befriended cockroaches because they are better than the enemy,” Malema said to loud cheers from the red berets gathered outside Madikizela-Mandela’s house in Soweto.

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“She was your member, but she belonged to South Africa. We own her too. How many times did she say we want EFF when she was still alive? We will be at the memorial service of Winnie Mandela.

“We know the people who were at the press conference of UDF [United Democratic Front] distancing themselves from Winnie Mandela. They must not come here and be hypocrites. If they continue to be tjatjarag, we will remind them you disassociated yourself with Winnie Mandela.

“We were never ashamed of her. We said a white judge, a white prosecutor and white buildings will never destroy the product of our masses,” Malema said in reference to Madikizela-Mandela’s court appearances in the 1990s.

He also told the crowd how Madikizela Mandela offered him and fellow ANC Youth League leaders support and shelter after being expelled by the ANC.

“We spent nights here, we ate food here when we were expelled by the ANC. We are not here for cameras. This is our home, we say so proudly. Fighters, this is your home, come give support with discipline and tolerance. We must coexist. That is what who mama was. She was a unifier.

“When we come here we come here to display discipline and support. Anyone who wants to disrupt the processes of the burial must be isolated. Winnie Mandela must have the most beautiful funeral befitting of the mother of the nation. Mama Winnie, we will never betray your fighting spirit. We will continue to call a spade a spade, never a gardening tool,” Malema said.

Malema also defiantly told the crowd that if the media and critics continued to refer to him as a fascists, then “Mama Winnie is a superior fascists because we learnt our politics from her”.