Julius Malema is militant. From his war-style berets to his talk of “seizing the land from the enemy”, his entire persona hinges on him being a fighter. What is he fighting for, you ask? Well, he’d like you to believe it’s for the economic liberation of disenfranchised black South Africans. But given that Juju wears imported clothes and drives the types of cars most of his supporters will never be able to afford (more on that later), he was accused of hypocrisy in a Times Live article on Monday morning.

On Tuesday the, err, “son of the people” sought to set the record clear at an EFF press conference at the Orion Hotel in Braamfontein. The purpose of the conference was to announce the EFF’s displeasure at the banning of their advert on SABC, but (as usual) Juju stole the show with a couple of “off-the-wall” statements when asked about other issues surrounding his party at the moment. Here’s a list of some of the most insane statements Juju made on Tuesday:

• “Sunday Times is for the elite”

On Monday, the Times Live wrote an article about Julius Malema’s love for luxury. They spoke of his love for designer shoes, clothes, and German cars in-spite of his working class hero act. As you can imagine, Juju was not impressed. He spent a good five minutes ranting about how the Sunday Times (Times Live’s sister publication) is a paper for the white elite and how there’s a supposed smear campaign against him by “white editorial rooms”.

“Sunday Times is not read by people. It’s read by white elite. There’s a difference” he began. “Sunday Times is always at our rallies. They can’t find anything bad about us so they write about what we wear. To say that someone is driving a Mercedez Benz, how can that be news?” he questioned. He went on to say that “black journalists should be ashamed for allowing themselves to be used by white editorials against their own brothers”. Good times.

• “We want to inspire the poor out of poverty”

This is the quote that’s been reported on extensively. Listen to what this guy said in reply:

“”How are you going to inspire them if you also live in a shack” he asked rhetorically. “We don’t have to stay in Alexandra to liberate people of Alexandra. They want to get out of that situation. They don’t want people to join them. That’s stupidity to think like that,” he continued.

The “son of the people” stays defiant to the end friends! Can you fault his logic at all? Well, by virtue of his unending wisdom, he should then stop b*tching about Nkandla. In the same way that Julius wears R7000 loafers to inspire his supporters, President Zuma built Nkandla to inspire South Africa. It was the president’s way of saying “South Africa, up your standards. Why spend R27 million on a house [the original budget for the President’s upgrades] when you can spend nine times that amount! Ball so hard!”. I digress.

Malema closed off his comment about his expensive clothing by saying: “We will never stop wearing what we do because your commitment isn’t dependant on what you wear. It’s about the heart. We have a heart for the poor”. How sweet.

• “We will give white people land”

With all the talk of “white monopoly capital”, “white elite” and “white editorial rooms” it was only a matter of time before someone asked whether the EFF (a party that describes itself as non-racial) has any space for those of a fairer hue. And boy did it get messy. When a white journalist commented on Malema’s negative use of the word “white” and asked if his party would exclude white people from the political sphere if they were to run the country, Juju was seething in his response.

“Why are you getting offended,” Malema barked. “What would we steal from you in any case? You don’t have any land. White people who own land don’t even constitute 7% of the white population. We’ll probably give you land. So chill. Just relax,” he concluded.

There you have it everyone – just chill. Malema’s on top of things and, contrary to what people think, he doesn’t hate white people. In fact, he wants to give them land. Malema needs to choose a stance and stick to it. He can’t be speaking of “killing the boer” one day and “giving white people land” the next. It’s kind of reminiscent of the time he said he was willing to “kill for Zuma” then he made a U-turn when he was kicked out of the ANC. Make up your mind, dude.

Follow me on Twitter: @RofhiwaManeta

Photography by: @RofhiwaManeta

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