EFF leader Julius Malema and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela at Ahmed Kathrada's funeral, 29 March 2017. Picture: Tracy-Lee Stark
Leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Julius Malema has called on the DA to “act” on Western Cape Premier Helen Zille for her tweets on colonialism “if they know what’s good for them”.
Malema said the EFF would not dictate to the DA how they should deal with their former leader, as these were internal processes of the opposition party.
The EFF leader said the reason they did not vote for the ANC during the local government elections was because the ruling party loved President Jacob Zuma more than the voters. Likewise, the DA “can’t love Helen Zille more than the people who were offended by the tweet”.
Speaking to PowerFM on Thursday morning, the EFF leader said Zille’s tweet on colonialism was “very offensive”.
He called on the DA “to act decisively with Zille if they know what good for them”. The EFF helped the DA secure three major metros during the 2016 local government elections.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane has since referred his former boss to the party’s federal legal commission for investigation. He said: “Colonialism, like apartheid, was wrong. It oppressed millions of people and violated human rights in a cruel and inhumane way. Colonialism, like apartheid, is in every single way against our cherished values of freedom, fairness and opportunity for all.”
The backlash comes after Zille tweeted a few weeks ago: “For those claiming legacy of colonialism was ONLY negative, think of our independent judiciary, transport infrastructure, piped water etc,” adding that “Would we have had a transition into specialised health care and medication without colonial influence? Just be honest, please.”
She later apologised “for a tweet that may have come across as a defence of colonialism”, saying it was not.
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