Politics, politicians, rallies, manifestos…these are words that have been trending recently and this past weekend has been no exception. On Saturday, 26 April, the EFF took its election campaign to the Cape Flats at Lentegeur Sports Ground in Mitchells Plain.
The area – a stronghold of the Democratic Alliance – is largely dominated by coloured people and infamous for its high concentration of drug dealers and gangsters. The EFF’s rally was themed “drugs, gangsterism and poverty” and party leader Julius Malema made sure that his party’s stance on the three issues was heard loud & clear.
Addressing hundreds of the party’s supporters – mostly young people – who were bused in from the Cape Metropolitan Region, Malema left no stone unturned regarding matters that were in the media spotlight – from his expensive clothes, to open letters and Freedom Day. “Clothes and material will not define us and we don’t need to live in shacks to fight for you. Doing so will just patronize you. We feel your pain internally,” he told the crowd. Malema, who arrived two hours late, arrived in a red CLA 200 Mercedes Benz, proving the point that he is not concerned with material things.
Malema told his supporters that they are not against white people, but they are against “white monopoly capitalists”, and EFF is not engaged in any racial struggle but a class struggle. “We will not be polite to greediness. We don’t want greedy white people, we don’t want greedy black people, that’s why we are not friends with Cyril Ramaphosa.” Malema said to loud cheers from his supporters.
Malema claimed that people who have surrendered themselves to drugs and alcohol have done so due to the lack of opportunities and drugs and alcohol were their solution. He then took a swipe at the ANC and the DA for failing to fight drugs and gangsterism. “All of them represent exploitation and exclusion of blacks and coloured people. The ANC is controlled by Ruperts and Oppenheimers and Zille is just a puppet,” he revealed.
Referring to the open letter that was written to him by Gayton Mckenzie, Malema said that they will never be led by ex-convicts. He believes that even their current and ex- girlfriends cannot vote for “Patriotic Alliance” because its leaders have no idea how to run a political party.”People call themselves motivational speakers but they cannot speak properly,” he said ridiculing the way Gayton Mckenzie speaks. Mckenzie, president of the PA, earlier this month (April), wrote a scathing open letter to Malema saying, “You are the biggest thief I have ever met. You truly are the Con-mander in Thief,” he wrote in the letter. Malema said he won’t divert his focus onto Mckenzie while he is busy focusing on Jacob Zuma. ” I can’t waste my time confronting a lizard, I am confronting a crocodile here,” he said.
Much like their leader, EFF supporters were not silent nor still. Many held up posters with statements such as “Run Zille Run” and “1 settler one shack” while others tore it up an ANC T-shirt with the face of President Jacob Zuma on it while zapping emphatically at the face of the country’s first citizen. Just standard procedure at an EFF rally.
The EFF is one of 29 parties that will be contesting the national and provincial elections on 07 May 2014.
by Mandy Nomphehle
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