‘Good citizens of our country’ – Malema to recruit prominent ANC members

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has set its eyes on recruiting prominent members of the ANC, including former president Jacob Zuma.

Red berets leader Julius Malema yesterday said he would soon visit Zuma to hand him a form to join the political party. This comes exactly two weeks after the spokesperson for the Jacob Zuma Foundation, Mzwanele Manyi, resigned from the ATM to join the red berets with immediate effect.

“If president [Jacob] Zuma comes and joins the EFF he will be more than welcome. I think very soon I’ll be going to see him, I must give him a form to join,” Malema said after his visit to the Zanele Mtshali Disability Home in Khutsong, west of Johannesburg where the EFF celebrated its 10 years of existence.

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“The same way I’ll be giving to president [Thabo] Mbeki, president [Kgalema] Motlanthe. They are good citizens of our country and I think president Zuma has paid his dues.”

Malema the ‘flip-flopper’

Malema has been accused of flip-flop politics where he disagrees with individuals, then later reconciles with them. This has also spread to party members who seem to follow the direction of their leader, who has reconciled with Zuma and Manyi.

“People choose which name they want to call me, I am a hero to others. I don’t care what the enemy defines me, I know what I represent,” Malema said.

“You can call me flip-flops all you want, I don’t decide what people think. I never decided that my mother should call me Julius. If I had a choice, I would have said don’t do that. Why give me a colonial name? But she chose to call me this name.

“Does it mean because we have once had a heated exchange between those you disagree with at that time, when they come to join, you should not agree for them to join the EFF because you once disagreed with them.

“There is no such politics where you are stagnant, you can’t move from when you disagree with an opinion. I’m not going to be asked by Europeans on how we engage on issues as Africans.”

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Commenting on Zuma’s presidency, Malema said the highest form of punishment for a sitting president was by ensuring they did not finish their term of office.

“It’s a permanent punishment, they will never finish talking about it. President Mbeki still talks about it today.”

‘Nothing political’

The party donated R100 000 to the home.

“We know it’s not enough but it’s a sign of commitment that we are ready to travel with you on this journey. Having received support from the EFF, it doesn’t mean when the ANC and the Democratic Alliance come tomorrow, the EFF will have a problem,” he said.

“We will never have a problem, there is nothing political about this place, this is a little heaven, no-one must come and do politics here.”

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Malema said the visit was not to seek votes ahead of the 2024 general elections, but to leave a mark for the needy. He said they did not expect anything from them in return.

“This is who we are, we identify with the dejected, we identify with the rejected,” he said.

– lungam@citizen.co.za