EFF president Julius Malema. (@EFFSouthAfrica/X formerly Twitter)
- EFF president Julius Malema is on a fact-finding mission after an electoral setback in KwaZulu-Natal.
- A decision is expected to be announced on Monday.
- Despite this, Malema has given the strongest indication that he is backing provincial chair Mongezi Twala.
EFF president Julius Malema says only the EFF will remove the ANC and DA from power.
Malema was speaking at a regional assembly in Pietermaritzburg, where he responded to issues raised by party supporters.
“Go and finish what you’ve started. Don’t be scared. This thing of bringing the ANC down was started by us. It will be finished by us. No one is going to finish our job. We’re going to collapse the ANC together with the DA,” Malema said.
He added: “The DA says there is only one opposition party in South Africa, and that opposition is the EFF. Take your rightful position. Challenge white monopoly capital and fight for the poorest of the poor.”
The EFF is on a fact-finding mission over its dismal performance in the elections in KwaZulu-Natal. The party was left punch-drunk when it garnered only 2% of the vote in the May general election – a drop from 10% in the 2019 election.
Since last week, Malema has said a decision will be made about the EFF in KwaZulu-Natal by Monday.
Approached for comment, EFF spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys said: “We have not yet made a decision, and how and when we will communicate the decision [sic].”
On Sunday, speaking at the funeral of the mother of EFF KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Mongezi Twala in Newcastle, Malema acknowledged that the arrival of Jacob Zuma’s MK Party had a significant impact on how his party performed in KwaZulu-Natal.
He said:
The truth of the matter is that the old man in Nkandla [Zuma] shocked all of us, but we will never allow that shock to happen again, and we will rebuild the EFF of your son here in KwaZulu-Natal.
He also spoke frankly about his former deputy, Floyd Shivambu, who left the EFF to join the MK Party.
“We must not be shaken by events that have taken place in the recent past. Every organisation that is going to stand the test of time must go through the eye of the needle. That is where all of you are going to be tested if you are soldiers of economic freedom,” he said.
