Leaving EFF is an assassination attempt – Malema

Malema

Cape Town — The leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, has described the actions of those who have deserted the party as an “assassination attempt”.

Malema’s announcement comes following many high-profile exits from the red berets this year, with Floyd Shivambu, Dali Mpofu and Busisiwe Mkhwebane all joining Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.

Speaking during the EFF’s Provincial General Assembly in Gauteng, Malema said anyone who leaves the party now would be making an “assassination attempt”, TimesLIVE reported.

“We must register today and for the future generation to remember the deserting of the EFF at this critical moment in our liberation struggle constitutes an assassination attempt. It’s important to not individualise this moment of infiltration and betrayal of the EFF but to place it within the above historical context,” Malema said.

He was grateful that some prominent leaders of the EFF chose to leave instead of dismantling the party from within.

“The greatest fear should not be our death but what would have happened to this revolutionary movement if the path to kill us was chosen rather than the path to abandon us. Perhaps we must be thankful the path to desert us was chosen instead. Perhaps we must be thankful we did not die,” he said.

According to The Citizen, Malema said the party has experienced high levels of infiltration and told remaining party members to guard against acts of infiltration, and individualism and to maintain revolutionary discipline.
“The EFF has most recently experienced dangerous levels of infiltration because this infiltration has been perpetuated by founders of this movement who were converted into sleeper agents and double agents, who sat amongst us but reported elsewhere,” he said.
“The people who have left this organization have not only led this infiltration and betrayal but even dared to prescribe to us how we must perceive and respond to their infiltration. To defect from the organization you founded, in favour of an organization that has just recently surpassed your organization in elections, is opportunism,” Malema added.

According to Jacaranda, Malema said the party has faced challenges, which delegates need to reflect on, for sabotage. He said when party ideas and principles are sacrificed for self-interest, infiltration manifests itself and self-interests can be disguised as interests for the party.

“The infiltration did not start when members resigned. It began when individuals in the movement saw themselves as the custodians of revolutionary thought, allowing self-interest to overshadow our principles,” Malema explained.

He said the party’s conference, set for 12-15 December in Johannesburg, is during a time of significant challenges for the party as it seeks to elect new leadership, review performances and set up a new strategy.

He said factionalism, leadership disputes and defections have disrupted the party’s internal cohesion. Malema also urged candidates to remain loyal to the party even if they were not elected to leadership positions.

“Loyalty to the organisation means that members will remain active members even when they are removed from their positions of responsibility; loyalty means members of the organisation will not join in the opposition and opponent forces who unfairly criticise the organisation and its leadership,” he said.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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