Gaslighter-in-Chief: ‘This is the most successful shutdown in the history of the party’ – Malema

Julius Malema greet EFF members at church square before their march to the the presidential compound in pretoria on 20 March 2023,next to him is Carl Niehausei.Photo:Felix Dlangamandla

By Bheki C. Simelane

21 Mar 2023

‘We showed today that we can shut down the country without burning a single building,’ the EFF leader told a crowd of about 4,000 in Pretoria.

About 4,000 people gathered at Church Square in Pretoria on Monday for an EFF march, which was part of the party’s attempt at a “national shutdown”.

The march, which was organised months ago, got off to a slow start in many parts of South Africa. However, in Pretoria, thousands of mostly EFF members and other political party members were in high spirits.

The EFF wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign, and an end to load shedding and high unemployment and crime rates.

“We are not naïve to say we will not support the EFF even when they are right. We are an independent organisation with our own values and principles,” said Jake Maleka, the Pretoria chairperson of Defenders of the People, at the march.

“It’s not our programme; it’s the EFF programme, but we share the same sentiments with the EFF, specifically with regard to load shedding because it’s clear there is no political will to deal with it,” said Maleka.

Maleka’s party was formed in 2020 and took part in the 2021 local government elections, where it got nine seats — three in Nelson Mandela Bay, four in Limpopo, one in Tshwane and one in North West.

Dozens of SAPS and Tshwane Metro Police Department officers monitored the crowd. Many shops in the capital were closed.

The March from Church Square to the Union Buildings began at about 1pm.

Julius Malema address members of the EFF outside the presidential compound in Pretoria on 20 March 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

EFF members gather at Church Square before their march to the presidential compound in Pretoria on 20 March 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

EFF members march to the presidential compound in Pretoria on 20 March 2023 during the national shutdown. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

South African Police Service members keep a watchful eye on the EFF members outside the presidential compound in Pretoria on 20 March 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

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Addressing the crowd, EFF leader Julius Malema said: “This is the most successful shutdown in the history of the party.”

He said the success of the march should be measured by the economic disruption that occurred on Monday.

“But the anarchists said the shutdown would not be successful. That’s a lie. They want to portray the EFF as anarchists. We showed today that we can shut down the country without burning a single building.

“Whether you like it or not, SA is on a shutdown today,” said Malema.

He said under Ramaphosa’s presidency, gender-based violence had risen sharply in South Africa, where there were high levels of crime and unemployment.

Forum 4 Service Delivery’s Motswaledi Rankapole said: “We are in full support of this shutdown. Ramaphosa must step down.”

People take photographs of Julius Malema while he leads the EFF march to the presidential compound in Pretoria on 20 March 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

The EFF’s Mbuyiseni Ndlozi leads the march to the presidential compound in Pretoria on 20 March 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

Julius Malema greets EFF members at Church Square before the march to the presidential compound in Pretoria on 20 March 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

The EFF also drew support from Eswatini. Mlungisi Makhanya, the president of the People’s United Democratic Movement (Pudemo), told Daily Maverick the programme of emancipating poor black people was beyond a single African country.

“It’s an EFF programme, it’s beyond SA, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and other countries because the poor can’t breathe any more because the system isn’t working. We are building an alliance of the poor all around Africa,” Makhanya said.

The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), whose president, Mzwanele Nyhontso, was also present, said: “There is no ruling party, we all rule.”

Malema said buses hired to transport EFF members at a cost of more than R1-million were cancelled at 2am on Monday after pressure from a government minister.

He said South Africa belonged to democracy and that Ramaphosa’s time was coming to an end.

“[Fikile] Mbalula, I know him, he sings for his supper. When they remove him from a position he cries like a baby. He is still sour for being removed as minister of police as if he was born minister of police,” said Malema.

Other notable figures in the crowd included the leader of the African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance, Carl Niehaus, African Transformation Movement (ATM) head of policy Mzwanele Manyi, ATM leader Vuyo Zungula, and PAC leader Nelson Themba Godi. Members of the United Democratic Movement were also present.

The ATM’s Manyi said Ramaphosa was selling South Africa to the West and had failed to provide jobs.

“We have killed a narrative to saying the march was about violence. It’s only the regime that benefits from violence, and not the people,” said Malema.

“If you see people in ANC T-shirts near you, don’t push them away, they are facing the same problem,” Malema said. “The left cannot sit on their couches while Eskom is dismantled.” DM

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