Why Julius Malema Is the Right Leader for Africa
Julius Malema, leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters, is one of the most notable political figures of the recent decade. He has shaped and continues to shape the political outlines of South Africa more than anybody else, and he has even offered his voice to the African continent as a whole, speaking out against Western dominance. Despite his poor academic achievement and controversial personality, Julius Malema, the fiery leader of South Africa’s second-largest opposition party, has become a symbol of triumph for his legions of admirers. He has demonstrated himself to be an exceptional leader who is not hesitant to speak his opinions, even if it is unfavourable to others. In this video, we’ll look at why Julius Malema is the right leader for Africa.
Malema is renowned as South Africa’s firebrand youth leader, which is shown in his belief in the cause, his unashamedly incendiary words, and the punch of his vocabulary. He once told TRT World’s Crossing The Line show, “We are not Mandela and we are not going to do Mandela things here. We are going to do our own things now. And this will benefit our children,” His declaration represents a policy shift that his five-year-old party, South Africa’s far-left Economic Freedom Fighters, is striving to implement after 24 years of control by the African National Congress. Their organisation, which purports to fight up for regular people’s rights, is perceived as a breath of new air by some and as plain fascist by others.
The “son of the soil,” as his Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have dubbed him, has spent the last six years transforming the party he established into a disciplined force that has set the agenda in some policy areas. Many assumed he would vanish after being ousted from the ANC in 2012. Malema himself believed he had “finished politically.” Instead, he consolidated, expanding his base and founding the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters, a party that has gained grassroots support in recent years.
The EFF’s commander-in-chief’s constant focus on inequality in South Africa, as well as the ANC’s inability to shift land from the white minority to the black majority, has cost his previous party, which spearheaded the fight against apartheid, support. Mr Malema was the first politician to visit the Lonmin-owned platinum mine, casting himself as a defender of underprivileged employees and forming the EFF in 2013, with a commitment to nationalise important sectors of the economy such as mining and banks.
Land occupation is a topic that Malema has pushed his way into the through rhetorical scuffles over the proposed policy of land expropriation without compensation. A 2017 government audit indicated that white people held 72 percent of South African land, dating back to the days of Dutch and British colonialism. Although the ANC promised to bring land expropriation to the forefront when it came to power in 1994, little progress has been accomplished in the subsequent years. In 2010, Mr Malema initiated a land reform discussion in parliament declaring, “The time for reconciliation is over; now is the time for justice.” Today’s ANC
government, led by Cyril Ramaphosa, has finally chosen to implement the policy – but not before the EFF lobbied vigorously for it.
Apart from his home country, Malema has made ripples across the African continent by speaking out against the West’s mistreatment of Africa. As the continent observed the 59th anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity in 2022, hundreds of activists from the South African Economic Freedom Fighters party, led by Malema, marched to the French embassy in Pretoria and demanded that France leave Africa. The political activists, dressed in customary red T-shirts and caps, brandished signs stating “France must pay reparations for its colonial crimes.” Julius Malema, the party’s leader, urged France to withdraw from the continent’s economic, political, cultural, and military affairs, stating that “ French colonialism in the African continent continues to be the most brutal, cruel, and devilish form of colonialism in the African continent. He also added that “We, as a generation of Freedom Fighters, reject and condemn the fact that decades after the declaration of the so-called independence of formerly colonized territories, colonizers continue to maintain a colonial and neo-colonial relationship with African countries which are supposed to be free from colonial control. ”
In a recent interview, Julius Malema discussed the US military base in Botswana, which he claims poses a threat to South Africa because of the fighter jet stationed there, which can strike the Union Building in less than two minutes. So, if America decides to fight South Africa, they don’t even need to dispatch anything from Washington because of the base in Botswana. He stated that this is what happened in Russia and that if precautions are not taken, it may happen in South Africa. Malema then stated that they must remove the government through the people of Botswana and install a government that will deconstruct that base.
In the same interview, he discussed the necessity for a United Africa, citing DRC and South Africa as examples. He claims that combining DRC minerals with South African minerals to create a new currency based on minerals has the potential to destabilise the dollar and pound, which are backed by gold, which the West lacks.
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the EFF leader has stated unequivocally that if he were in a position to do so, he would send weaponry to Russia because President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is a struggle against imperialism. He went on to say that he would go beyond his country’s alliance with Russia and supply Moscow with weaponry because the country is promoting an agenda that is compatible with the EFF’s philosophy.
Although Julius Malema has been accused of hate speech and derided as a populist and political demagogue by his critics, there is no doubt that he is a force to be reckoned with in Africa, and if he continues on his current path, he will be able to cause tremendous changes both in South Africa and throughout Africa.