‘Even if we lose votes’: Malema not backing down on pushing 'silent leaders' aside

EFF leader Julius Malema is not budging on his tough stance on party leaders who were “silent” about the exit of his former deputy Floyd Shivambu from the party and did not give him a heads-up.    

Shivambu resigned from the red berets on August 15. It remains a fresh wound for Malema.

Speaking to the media on Monday at the Nasrec expo centre, the venue for its elective conference in December, Malema lamented his stance to not form strong ties with party leaders who “betrayed” him.

“You cannot know such information and not tell me and expect me to trust you. I do not trust them. I will never trust them. You sit there comfortably with people telling you about an issue that is going to bring the organisation into disrepute and say, ‘It was not my place to tell you’,” he said.

Malema said even his eldest son Ratanang had tried to convince him to forgive party members who did not disclose the information but he “does not care” even if his discontent would cost the party votes.

“People who are not loyal must never be trusted; they will kill you. No we are fine. We are colleagues, it ends there. People tell you that they are leaving the EFF and you say, ‘Have you prayed about it?’ And you keep quiet. You think we must all survive through prayer. That is the highest form of disloyalty.”

He applauded EFF former general secretary Godrich Gardee whom he said had showed the EFF leadership loyalty during its time of trouble.

“Our organisation went through a particular period when all leadership came out and defended it and you were not there. Why must I be there for you?

“The organisation gets insulted in your name and people threaten to disrupt EFF conference in your name and you keep quiet. Even if that means we must lose votes, I am not going to sit with people who are disloyal because I want votes. People who knew Floyd was going were at the centre of my downfall.”

The Mail and Guardian recently reported there were some EFF members who wanted EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi to stand for the deputy president post and planned to disrupt the party’s elective conference in December.

Ndlozi publicly labelled the move as “rubbish” saying: “Anyone who loves the EFF will do no such thing.”

Ndlozi has been in the spotlight with many questioning his future in the party.

Concerns have been raised about whether he will take up the call from the youth and contest for the vacant deputy president post.

Last month the EFF Students Command (EFFSC) expelled former University of Limpopo SRC member Kganki Mphahlele after he took jabs at Malema while calling on Ndlozi to contest for the deputy president position.

“CIC Julius Malema is not a national people assembly super delegate, he must not dare try to impose Godrich Gardee as the EFF deputy president. We don't want Gardee, we want Mbuyiseni Ndlozi as branches. Julius and all his deployees must not dare start a war with branches, war is a very difficult thing,” Mphahlele said.

Ndlozi has also not publicly spoken about the leadership troubles but instead pledged his allegiance to the EFF — not necessarily the leaders.   

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