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Julius Malema and his Extraordinary, Fanatical Followers, a decade later

Julius Malema and his Extraordinary, Fanatical Followers, a decade later
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - JULY 29: The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) 10th Anniversary at FNB Stadium on July 29, 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The EFF celebrated their 10-year milestone, also effectively kicking off the partyís campaign ahead of the 2024 general elections. (Photo by Gallo Images/Papi Morake)
Stephen Grootes
By Stephen Grootes
31 Jul 2023
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As the EFF emerges from a week of festivities marking its 10 years of existence, there can be no doubt that the party and its leader, Julius Malema, have dramatically changed our politics into a coarser, much more ugly personal affair that is often driven by issues of racial identity, along with greater tolerance of corruption. The pressing question is whether the EFF does in fact have momentum and whether it will grow further or shrink in next year’s polls. While Malema publicly named and shamed members he believes failed the party, he may well have sown the seeds that limit the party’s future growth.

There can be no doubt that our politics has been formidably changed by the Economic Freedom Fighters.

While it may be hard to remember in these tumultuous days, in the years before Malema formed his party in 2013, Parliament was a much quieter place. The National Executive Committee of the ANC was the real political centre of gravity. It was their meetings that really mattered, and Esselen Park seemed to be a more potent geographic political symbol than Parliament.

Within months of the EFF’s arrival in Parliament that changed.

In February 2015, soon after the 2014 elections, the State of the Nation Address saw all of the EFF MPs physically thrown out of Parliament.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2015-02-13-sona2015-when-the-rulers-decided-on-the-night-that-might-is-right/

This event, and many others that followed, transformed Parliament into a gladiator arena of ever-increasing importance.

While some may have welcomed this, on the grounds that Parliament should indeed be the focus of political attention, it also ushered in the politics of — mostly ugly — spectacle.

This has now reached the point where many parents might prefer their children not to watch parliamentary proceedings live.

Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema during the party's launch in Rustenburg, South Africa, 13 October 2013. (Photo: Gallo Images / Alet Pretorius)


Salty language


It has also led to the most incredible language becoming commonplace.

Several months ago, after the party’s attempt at a “national shutdown”, Malema said in the National Assembly: “I’m in charge, I’ve got you by the scrotum. There is nothing you can do, nothing, all of you combined. You can scream anyhow you want, once more I demonstrated to you; black opposition, white opposition with the ruling party combined, I’m in charge and I want that to sink [in].”  

Ultimately, the “shutdown” turned out to be a damp squib, regardless of Malema’s oddly sexualised fantasy. 

Other politicians have followed with salty language. Even President Cyril Ramaphosa told Parliament in response to Malema that “I fear fokkol”.

Worse than the words used in Parliament is the violence. It has become so commonplace that events where the President is due to speak are interrupted by default, almost solely due to Malema and the EFF’s expected performance.

The impact of these little and big eruptions of verbal abuse is felt far outside Parliament.

Before the formation of the EFF, it was unusual for politicians to refer to the gender or ethnic identity of other politicians or journalists. Now it is normal. And comments like, “It is not time to slaughter whites… yet” or, “We are cutting the throat of whiteness” are commonplace.

This is only bad for our politics, it prevents proper political discussions and makes it difficult to move beyond name-calling.

Security personnel remove Economic Freedom Fighters MPs from Parliament during the State of the Nation Address on 9 February 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Beeld / Lulama Zenzile)


A toxic masculinity of violence


Perhaps the best way to sum up this part of the impact of the EFF is that it has brought a toxic masculinity of violence to our politics. It has made our politics more about ego, anger and brute violence. This has been accompanied by physical and verbal violence against women. 

The other negative impact on our politics has been the almost normalisation of corruption.

Two years before Malema launched the EFF it was becoming clear he was using his apparent control of tender processes in Limpopo to make money. Despite being criminally charged at one point for this, Malema has never faced a proper legal process.

Then there is the VBS bank scandal and the overwhelming evidence that money went from VBS to pay for Malema’s lifestyle, and to the brother of EFF deputy leader Floyd Shivambu, Brian Shivambu, who eventually paid it back after admitting he received the money for no valid reason.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-09-08-vbs-theft-money-laundering-lifes-little-luxuries-julius-malemas-time-of-spending-dangerously/

Amid this, the EFF’s opponents suspect that the National Prosecuting Authority and other authorities are not investigating Malema in the way they would ordinary law-abiding citizens who do not have the benefit of enjoying the support of more than a million fanatical followers. That he is above the law. It is otherwise difficult to understand the paralysis to prosecute when the evidence unearthed against him by investigative journalists is clear and exceptionally damning.

The attendance of the deputy head of SAPS Crime Intelligence, Major-General Feroz Khan, at the EFF’s gala dinner last week suggests some kind of relationship between the party and high-level police officials. 

And the fact that the self-confessed cigarette smuggler Adriano Mazzotti was also there (and paid the EFF’s first elections deposit) cements the claim that Malema is involved with criminals and possibly criminality.

However, Malema does not see it that way.

He told the EFF’s birthday rally at the FNB Stadium on Saturday that the SA Revenue Service (SARS) was hounding him, and as City Press reported, said, “Just three weeks ago, SARS officials visited my aunt’s home because her son’s associated with me and they wanted to inflict pain on me, but they couldn’t find anything.” 

He clearly believes authorities are investigating him with a political motive.

The Economic Freedom Fighters’ 10th anniversary at FNB Stadium on 29 July 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Papi Morake)


EFF interventions in local government


While the EFF had a dramatic and quick impact in Parliament, perhaps its interventions in local government have been more important.

In 2016, Malema was able to hold the balance of power in Joburg and Tshwane. Without the EFF, it is unlikely that the DA would ever have been able to govern those cities through coalitions.

Because of its size, often as the third-biggest party in a council, the EFF ended up being in this position fairly often, claiming it was the “kingmaker” of our politics.

This has resulted in the party holding several important mayoral committee positions in big metros, which is perhaps the first time the party has had important political power in government.

However, despite agreements with the ANC in some places, it has still not been able to hold the position of mayor in a metro, which makes it difficult to assess how it would actually govern.

Certainly, there is some evidence it has been a very difficult coalition partner for the ANC, which may make the governing party look for better options after next year’s national elections.

Floyd Shivambu and Julius Malema at the Economic Freedom Fighters’ 10th Anniversary at FNB Stadium on 29 July 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Papi Morake)


EFF’s share of the vote


Of course, perhaps the most important way to examine the EFF is to see how its share of the vote has changed since it was formed.

In national elections, in 2014, it won 6.35% of the vote; five years later, it won 10.8%.

In local elections (not a direct comparison), in 2016 it won 8.19%; in 2021 that figure rose to 10.31%.

While the party’s share of the vote has risen, it didn’t shoot the lights out. Still, the EFF’s importance may be much greater than that.  

Perhaps one of the biggest impacts the party had during the period leading up to December 2017 was that it deracialised opposition to the then president, Jacob Zuma.

Zuma often used race to try to delegitimise his opponents, and even in his final resignation address to the nation he claimed to be the political victim of white privilege.

If there had been no EFF, and no political leader with the sheer nous and strength of Malema, Zuma would have tried to pit the battle as solely between himself and white people, despite where the truth lay.

Malema’s siding with Zuma’s opposition stopped this from happening.

And the sight of him, along with other political leaders with very different constituencies, linking arms to oppose Zuma together was incredibly powerful. Without it, Zuma may have been much stronger.

Also, there can be no doubt that the tactics of the EFF, driven as they are by spectacle and the threat of violence, have led to more accountability.

It is likely that many corporates making decisions have thought more carefully about their actions, and worked harder to ensure they are not racist (or seen as racist) for fear of the possible actions of the EFF. Even the timeshare industry may have reason to behave better. 

The biggest question


Of course, the biggest question is: What will happen in next year’s elections? Will the EFF grow in votes and power, or has it lost momentum?

This is difficult to judge; certainly, the conditions on the ground, with incredibly high youth unemployment and the persistence of racialised inequality, suggest the party can still grow.

However, several people in the ANC have suggested that it has lost momentum. At the same time, the DA is using the EFF and its spectre of an “ANC-EFF doomsday coalition” to inspire more votes from their constituency.

If it is the case that Malema believes the EFF will not grow its share of the vote, then the negotiations around coalitions will be key to the party’s future success. If he is able to stay in coalitions with the ANC, he will continue to have great political power.

However, it is also possible that, as some in the ANC would prefer, these coalition agreements come to an end. Malema may find himself entirely cut off from power. If he loses votes at the same time, he may well be over the peak of his political career.

For the EFF to really take power one day, it has to be able to build a durable organisation that can survive changes of leadership. It also has to encourage people to work for the party, to make it greater than themselves.

Here the party and Malema himself are almost certainly failing.

There has never been a hint of a possibility of someone else leading the party. And Malema himself said at the EFF gala dinner, “The problem starts when you start organising against me and I hear it in the corners. I am very ruthless.”

This suggests that he will not tolerate anyone ever campaigning against him for the position of leader.

In his own view, Malema equals EFF and EFF equals Malema.

But no political party can survive in the longer term in this way. It needs many more people who are dedicated to its ideals and believe it will improve their lives.

One-way loyalty


Here Malema’s treatment of party members may be sowing the seeds of its own destruction.

Last week, he published the names of people he said had failed to provide transport for fellow members to the party’s rally.

Four of those names were EFF MPs.

While the leaders of political parties must often be disappointed in the behaviour of those below them, there is a reason they do not publish this: It will only end up damaging their party.

Malema has sent a signal to all EFF members that he will not back them in public should they commit mistakes.

It suggests that, while demanding absolute loyalty from them, he will not give loyalty in return. Those who have the potential to make a significant contribution to the party may well decide to either leave it or not join it in the first place.

The fact that four of those named and shamed are MPs shines another spotlight on how difficult Malema has found it to manage the EFF’s caucus. Even in the party’s first five years in Parliament, it changed more than half of its MPs. Malema may now do the same thing again.

This suggests that the EFF will never have the full benefit of people rising through the ranks to provide leadership of their own — it will remain a Julius and Floyd shop with 1-million fans.

In the end, while this private autocracy provided a great boost to the then nascent party, its lack of coherent succession planning could turn out to be the party’s biggest limitation. DM

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