ANC wants Malema back

Battle lines in the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have been drawn, with renewed claims that party leader Julius Malema is in talks with the ANC for a return to his former political home.

High-placed sources within the ANC and the EFF have confirmed that ANC stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is mediating in talks between senior ANC leadership and Malema about his return to the party.

This follows her recent public calls for Malema to "come back home".

Senior EFF MP Mpho Ramakatsa, who has threatened to take party leadership to court unless they scrap the results of their elective conference, confirmed Malema was in talks with the ANC.

He pointed to the corruption case against Malema, which he said he could survive only by "striking a deal with the ANC to have the charges dropped, along with a return to the party".

Ramakatsa said that Malema, when specifically asked about his plans to return to the ANC at the EFF's recent Mangaung conference, had been "very evasive".

"However, he did not rule out the possibility of the party going into an alliance with the ruling party," Ramakatsa said.

In another revelation, Ramakatsa said that Magdalene Moonsamy, the EFF's treasurer general, was set to return to the ruling party on her own terms.

"She is looking for a diplomatic posting to Cuba," said Ramakatsa.

Ramakatsa said the other motive for Moonsamy dumping the EFF was an argument she had with Malema over the party's financial affairs.

An ANC official, who asked to remain anonymous, said many within the party wanted Malema back, considering the loss of support in last year's elections.

ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said he was not aware of any negotiations with Malema, but he stressed that anyone who left the ANC to start their own political party was welcome to come back.

"It won't surprise us if everyone who left the ANC comes back. We will welcome them back because no one can survive outside the ANC," Kodwa said.

In response, Malema labelled Ramakatsa's claims "laughable".