Julius Malema has finally addressed social media claims about whether his wife, Mantwa Matlala, and Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala are related.
EFF leader Julius Malema has finally addressed social media claims about whether his wife, Mantwa Matlala, and Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala are related.
The EFF held a media briefing on Thursday, where Malema addressed several national and international matters.
‘He shares a surname with my wife’
Malema dismissed claims that his wife and ‘Cat’ Matlala are related, saying it was just a case of identical surnames.
Malema further explained why he asked Matlala personal questions at parliament’s ad hoc committee sitting, saying it was his attempt to appeal to Matlala’s conscience.
“I’m not related to ‘Cat’ Matlala. He shares a surname with my wife. There are a lot of people like that. My wife is not related to ‘Cat’ Matlala. There is no relation. We have nothing to do with Matlala,” said Malema.
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“I asked him questions without being shaken. I made a decision to be psychological in my approach and speak to his conscience, with the hope that I can break him, and he will be able to say this is not right. Matlala may have had no one to speak to him the way I did his entire life. That’s why I asked him to speak to Jerry’s mother. She sent me a message, thanked me, and said, ‘for the first time, I felt represented’.”
Malema: ‘I’m not scared of Sibiya’
South Africans noticed Malema’s absence from the ad hoc committee on the days when suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya testified, and speculated that it was an attempt to shield his ‘friend’.
However, the EFF leader said Sibiya happened to testify on days when he could not attend due to other commitments.
“I would never run away from my responsibilities. I am a member of the ad hoc committee, an MP, EFF leader and a family man. All these responsibilities are not going to drown because I’m sitting on the ad hoc committee,” said Malema.
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“I’ve got duties, including wearing a hoodie and going to a school to watch my kids playing. No animal will stand between my children and me, because I have a duty to fulfil.
“Unlike the ad hoc committee, I don’t have an alternate elsewhere. Leigh-Ann Mathys is doing a good job there. If it wasn’t for my absence, how were you going to see her brilliance? The EFF was there. I’m not scared of Sibiya.”
Malema shared a few words of advice with Sibiya: to save his pension instead of dragging out the process, as there was no way out.
“I don’t know how Sibiya is going to come out of this one. He should not have challenged his suspension. By now, he should be packing and going home and negotiating his pension because if he’s going to take us this long, he must know he’s eating into his pension,” said Malema.
“No government is going to pay his legal fees. Let’s save what is left of this thing. His performance at the ad hoc committee was so poor and [it] exposed him. So why do you need Malema if he still performed badly in Malema’s absence?”
‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves’
The EFF leader further warned South Africans against getting ahead of themselves before Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is found wanting in a court of law.
This was in relation to the charges laid against her by her sister, Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube, and the DA, on allegations of recruiting 17 South African men, who are now trapped in Ukraine.
“I don’t know of any Dudu who is facing any charges for taking people to Russia. I saw people opening cases against each other. I’m very conflicted because Dudu, anyway, she’s my friend. I just saw people lining up going to police stations to open cases, and then I saw her opening a case against another person,” said Malema.
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“There are no charges against Duduzile for taking people to Russia; let’s not be ahead of ourselves. Let’s allow the process to take its own course. If she’s engaged in any illegalities, the law must take its course, and she must be held accountable if she has done so. Until then, let’s not be driven by some excitement.”
‘We disagree with Dalindyebo’
The EFF further told the media that, if Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo was a party member before his relationship with Israel, that membership no longer existed.
Israel’s embassy in South Africa has been parading Dalindyebo on social media, following his visit to Israel.
“Israel has many friends in South Africa. Despite the government’s stance, public sentiment in South Africa, a majority-Christian country, is very positive,” said the embassy on Monday.
“Last week, His Majesty King Buyelekhaya Zwelibanzi Dalindyebo of the AbaThembu Kingdom visited Israel.”
Malema said that if Dalindyebo was a member, that membership no longer exists, as he has “defined himself outside the organisational policy.”
However, his personal politics would not stop the EFF from having relations with the Abathembu royal house.
“He has no business being a member of the EFF. Do we require chiefs and kings to be members of the EFF for us to have a relationship with the kingdom? No. King Misuzulu is not a member of the EFF. I was at his wedding. I have to respect and recognise the traditional leadership,” said Malema.
“The king of Abathembu understands very well the problem between Israel and Palestine, for whatever reason, he decided to do what he did. We completely disagree with that. In our membership, we would never have anyone who sides with Israel. So if you see me tomorrow at the royal house with Dalindyebo, don’t say we’re flip-flopping.”
