Johannesburg – EFF leader Julius Malema told party members yesterday there were no farm murders in the country and that the killing of women and children deserved special attention.
Malema was speaking outside the Senekal Magistrate’s Court, where Paul Roux residents Sekwetje Mahlamba, 32, and Sekola Matlaletsa, 44, applied for bail.
“There are no white farmers being killed in South Africa,” said Malema, indicating that his party did not agree with the notion of a ’genocide’ which is popularly touted by right-wing minorities.
The firebrand leader of the “red berets” said, the killing of women and children - which has reached crisis level in the country in recent years - deserved special attention.
He said the EFF was not in Senekal to support criminals. ’’We are here to confront white arrogance. We don’t want nonsense,” he said.
Malema thanked the hundreds of EFF members who were in Senekal to stand toe-to-toe to “racists” and what he described as ’’white criminals’’.
”We will not allow you to use your white supremacist tendencies when we are here,” he said.
According to Malema, apartheid did not end in 1994 and it was showing its true colours yesterday.
He said anti-apartheid activists never went to prison and exile only to vote, but wanted access to land, ownership of banks, mines and other strategic sectors of the economy.
”We want our land and everything that comes with it. We are liberated Africans. We are not fighting white people. We don’t want to be white people. Black is beautiful,” Malema said.
He appealed to EFF members not to worry about black people who call them thugs and anarchists for going to the eastern Free State town as Nelson Mandela was also called a terrorist by other black people.
Earlier in the day, EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu warned that there should not be a repeat of last week when a mob of farmers stormed the court and even fired live ammunition on police officers and suspects in holding cells.
Meanwhile, the FF Plus strongly condemned EFF supporters singing the “Kill the Boer” song in Senekal yesterday and lodged a complaint against Malema and his supporters with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
FF Plus leader Dr Pieter Groenewald said farm murders are a reality and it is this kind of incitement and irresponsible statements that are playing a significant role in farm attacks and murders.
“Julius Malema must be held personally liable because he is openly advocating hate and violence. Before today’s court case in Senekal, he even condoned the notion of a civil war.
This incitement stirs up supporters and makes them behave recklessly, as was the case with the countrywide Clicks protests. Julius Malema is not above the law, and it is time for action to be taken against him in the interest of all the people in the country,” said Groenewald.
In 2003, the FF Plus was successful in its effort as the HRC declared that singing the song amounts to hate speech.
Political Bureau