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ANC & EFF: Separated by a thin blue line

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Armed police stood between the ANC and EFF groups during EFF leader Julius Malema’s visit to Esikhawini Shopping Centre in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday. Some rocks were thrown by ANC supporters but Malema was unfazed 
PHOTO: Leon Sadiki/ City Press
Armed police stood between the ANC and EFF groups during EFF leader Julius Malema’s visit to Esikhawini Shopping Centre in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday. Some rocks were thrown by ANC supporters but Malema was unfazed PHOTO: Leon Sadiki/ City Press

Malema was warned he was not welcome in ‘Zuma’s province’. He has since found communities all over KZN eager to meet him

On a stiflingly humid day in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the province of the president, Julius Malema arrives to mounting tensions between his and ANC supporters. Heavily armed police stand at the ready between the two groups, occasionally exchanging harsh words with the them.

Moments after Malema’s arrival at Esikhawini Shopping Centre, rocks are hurled from the sea of yellow on the other side of the road. Both sides scatter as the sound of rubber bullets pierce the air.

“Don’t run, don’t be scared. The police will take care of them. This municipality belongs to the EFF, not to criminals who are afraid of democracy,” Malema says calmly over a microphone.

His bodyguards have rushed to his side, but Malema seems unfazed by the commotion.

“Do not retaliate, rather punish them at the polls on August 3.”

The EFF party leader then claims he led an ANC delegation to Nongoma. They were afraid to go there, so he had no reason to fear being in the province
now, despite the fact that he was warned he would not be welcome.

Before his arrival, one of the ANC supporters told City Press they had gathered there to welcome their visitors, even “that young boy Malema”.

“He is our son. We raised him, we want him to feel welcome here.”

Behind the supporter, an EFF shirt has been tied to a pole and set alight while the group sings a song about slain apartheid activist Solomon Mahlangu, to whom the EFF recently paid tribute.

In the uMhlathuze municipality, 60% of residents chose the ANC at the last municipal elections while their opposition – the IFP – took home 17%.

Malema has got his party first off the starting block in the race to this year’s elections with a series of countrywide community meetings. Thousands have gathered for face time with the commander in chief.

In Mpumalanga this week, police had to intervene when ANC supporters tried to disrupt an EFF meeting. In the same province the following day, ANC supporters blocked the entrance to a venue where Malema was to have another meeting.

It will be the young party’s first round in the local government arena. Malema and some of his top six have been conducting an average of three community meetings a day over the past three weeks.

But KZN was always going to be a tough crowd. EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu has in recent months spent time in the embattled province making the ground fertile.

In Emnambithi – where the ANC scored 63% and the IFP 17% in 2011 – Malema told more than 1 000 people that KZN was the only province where support for the ANC continued to grow.

Malema was welcomed in that region by a pastor clad in snow-white robes. He expressed how pleased he was to finally come face to face with the “commander in chief”. He offered a blessing to the man he referred to as “Bab’ Malema” by pouring water on the ground in the drought-stricken area.

Residents, one after the other, pleaded with Malema to help them with the youth unemployment crisis, housing issues and ill-treatment by farmers for whom they work.

Listening attentively, Malema stood up and apologised first for his poor command of isiZulu. He then thanked the group for offering evidence he could take back to Parliament to show President Jacob Zuma how his people were suffering in his home province.

He slammed the practice of voting for Zuma just because he was Zulu, saying that a person could be Zulu and useless.

Malema said tribalism in politics was a deterrent in the economic liberation of blacks.

Today the EFF leader will forge ahead with meetings in Umlazi and Pietermaritzburg while his deputy goes door to door in Gauteng. The party has been investing its energies into three major metros, the City of Tshwane, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay.

Malema’s commitments to communities include a transparent RDP allocation process; jobs for people regardless of political affiliation; free water and electricity for the poor; and flushing toilets. The message to EFF councillor hopefuls is that if they put one foot wrong they are out. These sins would include leaving their community to go and live in the suburbs or in more affluent areas.

“I never thought I would see the ANC run, but I have seen it today.

“I’m lucky to be seeing it happen in KZN,” Malema said yesterday.

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