EFF leader Julius Malema has fingered the governing ANC as the most politically intolerant political formation ahead of the national and provincial elections this year.
The red berets commander went as far as saying he was now convinced that the ANC killed more people than the IFP during the political violence of the early 1990s in KwaZulu-Natal. He also blamed it for the ongoing killings of councillors in the same province.
Malema was speaking in a press briefing to review the party’s election manifesto rally that was held at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban last Saturday.
State-sponsored sabotage
According to him, there was a state-sponsored sabotage mission that the EFF successfully thwarted that sought to collapse the rally.
At the forefront of the sabotage mission, he charged, were ANC leaders. He said chief of them is the party’s KZN provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo.
He accused Mtolo of trying to convince bus owners who had been procured to ferry EFF supporters to the stadium to stand down. The bus owners apparently ignored the instruction.
AmaBhinca Carnival, tribalism blamed
The so-called AmaBhinca Carnival, an event organised by social media influencer Ngizwe Mchunu was also part of the sabotage, he claimed. Mchunu’s event was on the same day of the EFF manifesto Rally.
Malema said the sabotage was tribalistic in nature. He took exception as Mtolo, an ANC leader, defended Mchunu, whom he views as a staunch tribalist.
After Mtolo had failed to convince bus owners to dump the EFF, said Malema, police were used to check for busses coming from other provinces. They were to check buses that were entering KZN. To their disappointment, there were none, he said.
Fingered the ANC for all the problems
After it is all said and done, he added, it was clear that the ANC was the most intolerant organisation. He said the ANC will stop at nothing to sabotaging its opponents.
“The ANC, when you visit voting stations, [they] get a bakkie and mobilise people to that voting station. When you are about to address your people, they pump music. That is political intolerance,” said Malema.
“I thought that the IFP was the one that was violent in KZN and killing our people. I think the ANC killed more people than the IFP. And I think the ANC is at the centre of political violence in KZN. The level of violence is extreme, I have never come across anything like that anywhere in the country.
Wants IEC informed
“The level of intolerance in that place by the ANC must be reported to the IEC. Especially now with new developments of a new political party in KZN. We have already seen videos of ANC people destroying a gazebo of [the] MK Party. You will never see the EFF engaging is such activities, we do not.”
Malema said he took offence at the determination the ANC showed to collapse the EFF rally. He said the red berets have never bothered coming anywhere close to the governing party’s events.
In his view, the attempt to sabotage the EFF manifesto rally started way before it took place. When he was doing community meetings mobilisation, the ANC would organise a counter meeting just next door.
Accordingly, these machinations in a province with a history of political intolerance and violence leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. It speaks volumes of the ANC leadership in KZN, he said.
Black-on-black violence
Said Malema: “No one speaks about political intolerance caused by the ANC in KZN, a very volatile and sensitive province. The ANC wants to start a black-on-black violence.”
It appears that a blame game on political intolerance will be among the mainstays during this campaign season.
This after ANC Gauteng provincial chairperson Panyaza Lesufi also this week also had similar issues. He claimed that the party in the province was being barred by certain civic and political formations. Lesufi named Dudula as one of the organisations. He said they were barring them from campaigning in certain parts of the province.
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