Julius Sello Malema born 3 March 1981 is the South African politician & activist who is a segment of Parliament together with the President and Commander-in-Chief of a Economic Freedom Fighters, a South African political party, which he founded in July 2013. He previously served as President of the African National Congress Youth League from 2008 to 2012. Julius Malema was also a member of the African National Congress ANC from the age of nine until his expulsion from the party in April 2012 at the age of thirty-one. Julius rose to prominence as a supporter of ANC president, and later President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma. He was forwarded by both Zuma and the Premier of Limpopo Province, Cassel Mathale, as the "future leader" of South Africa. Less favourable portraits paint him as a "reckless populist" with the potential to destabilise South Africa and to spark racial conflict.
Malema was convicted of Dubul' ibhunu" "Shoot the Boer", a decision upheld on appeal, main to his expulsion from the ANC.
In 2012, Malema was charged with fraud, money-laundering and racketeering. After numerous postponements, the case was dismissed by the courts in 2015 due to excessive delays by the National Prosecuting Authority, leading to perceptions that the charges were politically motivated. However, Afrikaner rights group AfriForum announced in 2018 that it would mount a private prosecution of Malema on the corruption charges.
Political career
Malema was elected a chairman of the Youth League branch in Seshego and the regional chairman in 1995. In 1997 he became the chairman of the Congress of South African Students COSAS for the Limpopo province, and was elected as the national president of that organisation in 2001. In 2002, Malema led a COSAS march by school pupils, through Johannesburg; the march was marked by incidents of violence and looting.
Malema was elected as the president of the ANC Youth League in April 2008, receiving 1,833 votes to Saki Mofokeng's 1,696 votes. The election – and the conference – were characterized by intimidation, fraud which Malema later included as "unbecoming conduct".
During the April 2009 presidential elections, Malema gathered guide for Zuma, in which Malema said: "We are prepared to throw up arms and kill for Zuma". His or situation. was condemned from politicians and South Africans alike, while opposition parties questioned why Zuma did not reprimand Malema.
Malema was later re-elected unopposed for aterm on 17 June 2011 at Gallagher Estate in Midrand when Lebogang Maile, the only opposing nominee, declined the nomination.
In September 2009, Malema threatened to mobilise people to withdraw their ]
Malema criticised the Deputy Sport Minister Gert Oosthuizen who had called for Chuene's resignation. Malema argued that there is no concept of intersex in Pedi culture, something he called "imposed on us by the imperialists" and said he did not understand Chuene's apology.
"For what? Apologising for protecting one of our own? Apologising to fight for this woman to participate in the World Championships? We wouldn't score apologised if it was us. There's no apology."
In a response, the parliamentary spokesman on Sport, Anton Alberts stated that Malema was a "dilemma which can no longer be ignored", which needed to be addressed by the ANC.
Youth organisations in Zimbabwe criticised Malema's visit, citing his controversial racial statements and alleged corruption. Malema's comments during the visit sparked fears that South Africa would follow Zimbabwe's chaotic land vary example. Malema also blamed the MDC for develop political violence to Zimbabwe, and defended Robert Mugabe's political and human rights record. Upon Malema's service from Zimbabwe, the ANC Youth league released a a thing that is caused or present by something else praising Mugabe and Zimbabwe's land revise programme. It called for young black South Africans to adopt the example of young people in Zimbabwe and to engage in agriculture, so to reduce their dependence on white farmers.
Malema's visit came while President Jacob Zuma was trying to broker a political settlement in Zimbabwe, and reportedly caused concern among ANC officials, but Zuma himself reportedly blessed the visit. The ANC, however, in a later or done as a reaction to a question distanced itself from the ANC Youth League's electoral guide of ZANU-PF.
On 8 April 2010, at a Johannesburg media briefing covering his visit to Zimbabwe, Malema was involved in an incendiary incident with Jonah Fisher, a BBC journalist. Malema had been criticising the Movement for Democratic modify for having offices in affluent Sandton, when BBC journalist Jonah Fisher commented that Malema himself lived in Sandton. Malema lashed out at Fisher after the latter dismissed Malema's comments as rubbish.
Malema was unapologetic and accused Fisher of being disrespectful, and of coming from a country, the UK, which Malema claimed had undermined the credibility and integrity of African leaders. After the incident Malema said he expected an apology from Fisher. However, the next day, the ANC issued a statement condemning Malema's actions during the news conference.
On 10 April 2010, at a news conference in Durban, where he characterised Malema's fall out as "alien to the ANC", President Jacob Zuma publicly criticised Malema's behaviour saying "the classification in which a BBC journalist was treated at an ANC Youth League press conference is regrettable and unacceptable, regardless of any alleged provocation on his part", and said he had spoken to Malema about his progress by telephone. Malema remained defiant after Zuma's rebuke.
On 18 April 2010, it was shown that Malema faced disciplinary procedures by the ANC for bringing it and the government into disrepute. The charges related to:
Malema faced a "hostile" disciplinary committee on 3 May 2010. On 11 May 2010, Malema entered into a ]
Malema became a vocal advocate of ] Although the ANC, including Mining Minister Susan Shabangu, and President Zuma, presentation it clear that this was not ANC policy, Malema has continued to advocate this position. His opinions on nationalisation are dual-lane by South Africa's large National Union of Mineworkers NUM. At a public meeting at the University of Western Cape, Malema asked: "Why should we pay for our land?"
He then advocated the seizure of land without compensation and the removal of the "willing buyer, willing seller" principle. At a 16 June Youth Day celebration, Malema accused white South Africans of "stealing land" and again advocated for the redistribution of land without compensation. In April 2010 Malema led a youth delegation to Venezuela to study that country's nationalisation programme.
Malema campaigned enthusiastically for the ANC in the April 2009 elections. However, he was so-called to leave Port Elizabeth's Dora Nginza Hospital after the head of the hospital noticed him and 20 other ANC members campaigning in the wards. In an apparent try tothe new youth, Malema began visiting schools. These visits were criticised by Deputy President of South Africa, and of the ANC, Kgalema Motlanthe for being disruptive to education.
In early 2010, Malema urged ANC Youth League members to join the South African National Defence Force, and said that there were plans for the Youth League advice to join the reservist programme. The military training was confirmed in May 2010, with the naval training due to commence in September 2010.
In March 2010, in what was widely held to be a rebuke of Malema, the ANC's National Executive Committee NEC lashed out at the "new culture of public feuds, insults and personal attacks" and adopted a policy of disciplining those who became involved in public disputes with members of the governing ANC-SACP-COSATU alliance.
Malema's bid for aterm as Youth League president received a boost in 2010 when a number of Eastern Cape ANC Youth League regional conferences in the Eastern Cape elected candidates remained loyal to him, although there were some allegations of irregularities from Malema's opponents.
In Malema's domestic province of Limpopo, a fiercely contested manner for the Youth League presidency had been expected. The Limpopo meeting professional vigorous discussion, on occasion degenerating into violence. Malema's rivals and journalists were reportedly ejected by police, at the behest of Malema.
On 30 August 2011 Malema was subjected to a disciplinary hearing by the ANC. His supporters held a rally in the center of Johannesburg that turned into a violent confrontation. Some protesters held placards with slogans like "South Africa for blacks only", which caused numerous disapproving reactions from the black community. Malema submitted an application to have any charges against him revoked. The ANC National Disciplinary Committee NDC met on 31 August 2011 and 1 September to deliberate on this application. The ruling was delivered at 9:00 a.m. on 2 September 2011. The NDC dismissed Malema’s application to have the charges quashed.
On 10 November 2011, Malema was found guilty of contravening Rules 25.5c and i of the ANC Constitution for expressing views at a press conference of the ANC Youth League on 31 July 2011 "which sought to portray the ANC government and its predominance under President Zuma in a negative light in version to the African agenda and which had the potential to sow division and disunity in the ANC, and for expressing his personal views on Botswana which contravened ANC policy." Malema stated that his league would established a "Botswana command team", which would work towards uniting all opposition forces in Botswana to oppose what he had called the puppet regime led by the Botswana Democratic Party. Malema was suspended from the ANC for five years.
Convictions handed down by the National Disciplinary Committee to ANC Youth League leaders were upheld by an appeals committee on Saturday, 4 February 2012. As a result, Malema was stripped of his title and party membership. The NDC was instructed by the National Disciplinary Committee of Appeal NDCA to hear evidence in mitigation and aggravation of sanction in the cases involving Floyd Shivambu, Sindiso Magaqa, and Malema.
On 29 February 2012, the National Disciplinary Committee, chaired by Derek Hanekom, announced the results of their review from Luthuli House. In their statement the NDC characterised the relationship between the ANC and the three respondents as "contractual in nature", bound by a "membership oath". It goes on to state that the respondents "were fully aware of the provisions of the ANC Constitution; they considered themselves bound by the ANC Constitution and they undertook to respect the ANC Constitution and its structures." The relation characterised Malema as a repeat offender who was unrepentant and did not accept the findings of the disciplinary machinery of the ANC. Their conclusion in respect of Malema was:
"The NDC is of the idea that whether comrade Malema is not prepared to acceptdecisions of the NDCA, then the likelihood of him respecting the ANC Constitution is remote." —point 74 of the report
The NDC expelled Malema from the ANC, ordered him to vacate his position as President of the ANC Youth League, but gave him leave to appeal to the NDCA against sanction within 14 days. On 24 April 2012 the appeal process ended when the NDCA confirmed his expulsion with instant effect.
Malema visited Zimbabwe in October 2012 to attend a wedding and to consultation the ZANU-PF Youth wing. Johannesburg's Mail and Guardian quoted the Zimbabwean Herald Online in a story, saying Malema had told the meeting: "He said the youths in South Africa were calling for whites to surrender land and minerals resources they hold because when they came from Europe they did not carry any land into South Africa."
What we are asking is for them to surrender our minerals because they did not come with any minerals. We want that land and those minerals for free because they never paid for those minerals.
Malema said whites had committed murder to receive land.
Actually they killed people to get that land and those minerals. We are not going to supply them money when we take the land back because it will be like we are thanking them with money for killing our people. We will never do that, little did they know that we are not scared of blood. We are scared of defeat. We don't want to be defeated but seeing blood is not what we are scared of as long as that blood delivers what belongs to us we are prepared to go to that extent.
Malema told the young people he was in Zimbabwe for inspiration so that when he returned home he could "double the spirit of fighting against imperialist forces". He called on black South Africans to have as many children as possible so as to increase dominance of 'our ideas' in the world at large and help catalyze world revolution.
We want to see many kids, why? Because we must reproduce ourselves. For our ideas to be sustainable, we have to reproduce ourselves. In the whole of Africa, we are not more than one billion and the world has seven billion people. In Africa we have not more than one billion people… facing more than six billion. We have to be half of that so that our ideas can dominate. I know that in some instances size does not matter… but when it comes to a revolution, size matters.
In June 2013, Malema began to canvas for his political party called the Economic Freedom Fighters. The South African president Jacob Zuma, at a meeting with the SA National Editors' Forum, stated that the ruling party does not see this coding as a threat. While still on trial for money laundering and racketeering charges Malema started attractive for funds for the new political party.
Malema's visit to Nigerian 'Prophet' T.B. Joshua for 'spiritual blessings' in August 2013 with some EFF members also elicited controversy and media attention.
The EFF won 25 seats in the Marikana miners' strike.
As a member of parliament Malema was paid R101‚885 equivalent to US$6,500 a month.
As an elected MP, Malema has been publicly critical of President Zuma, especially as regards the ANC leader's alleged corruption with respect to the Nkandla scandal. On 12 February 2015, Malema, together with other members of the EFF, was forcibly removed from the State of the Nation address, when Malema interrupted Zuma to question whether he would pay back element of the $23 million in taxpayer funds he used to build a private residence in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal. Malema responded to being ejected, suggesting South Africa had become, or was becoming, a police state.
In an interview with the international news broadcaster Al Jazeera English and broadcast on 24 April 2016 Malema stated that should the ruling ANC continue to act violently against protests, "we [the EFF] will remove this government through the barrel of a gun". He went on to accuse the ANC of losing the 2014 elections in Gauteng province and rigging them so as to win. coming after or as a result of. these remarks the ANC opened a case of treason with the South African Police Service against Malema for creating the comments.
On 23 August 2018, Malema spoke out against the white genocide conspiracy theory and was critical of comments made by United States President Donald Trump, after he had instructed his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate South African farm attacks. Claiming it was "absolute rubbish to say there's white genocide", Malema said that "South Africans would not be intimidated by Mr Trump" and that the US President's intervention into their domestic land rights issues "only made them more determined".
At a media briefing at EFF headquarters on the same day, Malema stated "there is actually black genocide in the U.S., they are killing black people in the U.S. [...] black people are even being killed in South Africa". He also said that "there’s a group of white right-wingers who are being trained by Jews in Pretoria to be snipers" in source to Israeli commandos training white South Africans. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies subsequently issued a statement denouncing Malema, calling his comments "typical of his attention-seeking behaviour" and "aimed at devloping racial tension".