IN A PASSIONATE address to a packed congregation at St. Paul’s Apostolic African Church on Sunday, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema urged its members to join the fight against landlessness.
The Commander-in-Chief invoked the church's historical role in the liberation struggle, calling on the congregants to lead in the fight against pressing social issues that plague society today.
His visit, coinciding with the church’s Thanksgiving feast, was a clarion call for renewed activism in the face of the socio-economic despair many South Africans face.
Malema talked tough on the issue of land and transformation and did not shy away from the recent standoff between South Africa and the US, which followed President Donald Trump’s recent executive order cutting key funding from South Africa.
Trump said Afrikaners were being targeted by a new law that allows the government to expropriate private land.
Malema who also spoke about crime, GBV and substance abuse currently prevalent in society said he will not be bullied by Elon Musk, who labelled Malema an “International criminal” on social media.
Musk’s statement was in reference to a 2018 social media post in which Malema declared, “We will cut the throat of whiteness”.
Malema in the post made the statement as he advocated for the removal of Athol Trollip, who was the mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay at the time.
Malema said attacks by Musk will not deter him from his political work and commitment to his principles.
“We want the land and next time they ask me what I want to do with the land, I will say I want to do what my pastor has done with the land. You can be guaranteed South Africans, I will not be bullied by Elon Musk and Donald Trump because I have never done any crime against anyone,” he stated.
Malema delivered his address in front of the packed Soweto church on the invitation of former Nelson Mandela Foundation spokesperson, Sello Hatang, who is a member of the church.
Malema who this weekend attended an auction with white farmers, indicated that he did this deliberately to illustrate to Trump and Musk that he does not harbour any ill will against white farmers, adding that being called an international criminal does not bother him.
“I am so happy to be an international criminal because Nelson Mandela was an international criminal.That is what they declared him for fighting for the freedom of our people. If it means I am joining the ranks of Mandela, so be it,..I am a proud international criminal” he declared
“Today, I have been asked to speak on the challenges facing our society, which include the crime that confronts our communities which is partnered by the abuse of drugs and alcohol as well as to speak on the challenges of unemployment and landlessness.
“We call upon the church to join the EFF on the call to ban the advertisement of alcohol because this advertisement of alcohol, makes it look cool, when in fact, it is the devil in our country,” he stated.
Early this month, during a media briefing, Malema declared that 2025 would be the “year of the picket lines”, in a bid to return the party to its grassroots activism.
Malema asked the same of the church saying in the past, the church fought side by side with many of the country’s liberation movements and it should renew its commitment to socio-economic issues as the voice of the church is still needed in the country.
“The church was a source of strength for our mothers and fathers who were stripped of their dignity by the cruel regime and many times, when liberation movements were banned and suppressed, the church was the only tool to oppose the cruel regime of Pretoria. It will be, therefore, unfair for me to come on this platform and speak as if it is only politics that can resolve the moral and ethical challenges facing this society,” he added.
With the country’s GBVG (gender based violence and femicide) scourge having become a national crisis, Malema said the country has since become synonymous with crime and GBVF.
“As a country, we have turned our backs on our faith and as result, the evils of crime, GBVF and murder have become normal occurrences. This is because a nation without a strong faith is a lost nation. We have forgotten the role of the church in defeating the evil of Apartheid,” he said.
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za