Johannesburg — The embattled Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has pointed fingers at his former deputy, Floyd Shivambu, for the party’s dismal performance in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) during the recent national and provincial elections.
The EFF had tasked Shivambu with spearheading efforts to expand its influence in the province ahead of the 29 May elections. However, the party only managed to secure 2% of the vote in KZN, earning just one seat in the provincial legislature.
In stark contrast, Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party clinched a commanding 45.93% of the vote in the province.
Speaking at the EFF’s Gauteng Provincial General Assembly (PGA) over the weekend, Malema attributed the party’s decline in KZN to Shivambu’s alleged failures and accused him of betrayal.
“We are even being kind by saying that the person who was deployed to KZN for elections was divorced from reality in KZN,” Malema said. “It may even be true, and more worrying, that he was aware of the damage to come in KZN and kept quiet because he had already chosen to betray this movement.”
Malema alleged that Shivambu, who left the EFF in August to join the MK party, played a role in the “planned organisational collapse” of the EFF in KZN. He claimed this betrayal extended beyond the province and included efforts to infiltrate and destabilise the party nationally.
Malema also accused Shivambu of pressuring EFF leadership to align with the Government of National Unity (GNU), led by the ANC. He described these moves as compromising the EFF’s core principles of anti-racism and land redistribution.
“We look back just a few months ago, as the leadership standing in front of you today, were put under immense pressure by those who have left us behind, to write petitions to the ANC and ostensibly the GNU, for inclusion in their compromised government, which is led by the descendants of settler colonialists and white supremacists,” Malema said.
The EFF is set to address the media on Monday ahead of its elective conference scheduled for next month. Malema expressed confidence in the party’s resilience despite the recent defections, including that of former national chairperson Dali Mpofu, who also joined the MK party.
“We will not be deterred by those who seek to undermine our struggle. The revolution continues,” Malema asserted.
As the political landscape in KZN shifts, the EFF faces mounting pressure to regroup and reclaim its position as a force to reckon with in South African politics.