Are Malema and Shivambu having revolutionary relationship issues?

At the Economic Freedom Fighters’ sixth birthday party in Mpumalanga over the weekend, party leader Julius Malema went on a tirade against leaders in the party he considered bad for its image and its revolution.

While EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu was not named, and connecting him to Malema’s speech would be speculative, TimesLive has suggested that he may indeed have been referring to his second-in-command.

The publication noted that Shivambu appeared “uncomfortable” during the speech, and also suggested that two of the comments Malema made could have been directed at Shivambu.

According to the publication, his mention of “any leader that always appears in controversial issues that undermine the image of the EFF”, could refer to Shivambu’s prominence in reports on the party’s involvement in the VBS bank saga, while his statement that his party’s “revolution does not need people who get easily excited” when they were complimented could refer to how Shivambu was often praised on social media for his speeches on financial issues in parliament.

Malema’s speech also hit out at leaders who he accused of having “hijacked” the EFF “train”.

“Any leader that is busy but busy over nothing is no leader at all,” he said.

“All leaders must be grounded. Leaders must be humble and leaders must answer their cellphone. Leaders do not get easily excitable, even if you win Lotto and even if you get involved in big deals but leaders must remain humble and not act in an excited manner like children getting into a shop full of sweets running all over. I have seen leaders of the EFF getting excited,” he continued.

READ MORE: Shivambu planning to ‘remove Malema’, alleges ex-member

The EFF, Malema said, “is heavy, it does not need chance-takers”.

“It does not need people who love niceties. It does not need leaders who become shapeless amoebas and do not know what they represent.”

Suggestions of a rift between the EFF’s two most powerful leaders are nothing new.

In 2016, claims were made by former Gauteng EFF leader Lufuno Gogoro about a fight within the EFF top leadership.

Gogoro, who became a bitter enemy of Malema after his expulsion from the EFF, suggested there was a rift between Malema and Shivambu over who they were backing to succeed Jacob Zuma, with Gogoro alleging that Malema supported Kgalema Motlanthe and Shivambu backed Cyril Ramaphosa at the time.

It was reported that Gogoro suggested that Shivambu was trying to “remove” Malema and replace him as leader.

Nothing came of those reports and whether the link between the EFF leader slammed by Malema in his speech and Shivambu actually exists remains to be seen.

The party plans to hold its elective conference at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg from 13-16 December.

There has been much speculation about whether Shivambu might consider challenging Malema for the presidency.

Provincial and regional structures in the party have already started meeting to chart how they will be voting.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)