News / Africa
Malema planning a coup
25 Apr 2016 at 15:25hrs | Views
Johannesburg - Cosatu on Monday accused EFF leader Julius Malema of planning to overthrow the government.
"For us, we can see the issue is not about elections, the issue is about a long-planned activity of how they are going to take over the country," the union federation's second deputy president, Zingiswa Losi, said at a briefing on its May Day events.
"They are cooking now. The DA, Vavi all of them, they are cooking."
Losi suggested that the arms Malema had threatened to take up against the government were being sponsored by a third party.
Losi said Cosatu called on all citizens to be responsible.
Malema told Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull last week that if the ANC continued to respond violently to peaceful protests, "we will run out of patience very soon and we will remove this government through the barrel of a gun".
"I mean it literally. We are not scared. We are not going to have a government that disrespects us," he replied when asked if it meant people should literally take up arms.
Cosatu said the "marriage" between its former general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi and the DA began in 2012.
First deputy president James Tyotyo said they found DA pamphlets at Cosatu House and that former DA leader Helen Zille had attempted to convince Vavi to join the DA in 2012.
"She said to him if you can come over, we can make a formidable partnership. The DA needs you. Subsequent to that, we found DA pamphlets at Cosatu House. It's nothing new. He must deny this one as he has denied he had a meeting," Tyotyo said.
Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini said they would oppose "marriages of convenience".
The Sunday Times reported that the official opposition had been courting Vavi.
The paper claimed DA leader Mmusi Maimane and Vavi met at a Johannesburg hotel on February 1 to discuss forming a coalition government in the highly-contested Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the Eastern Cape, should the ANC fail to win an outright majority there.
Vavi said on Sunday dismissed the report as an effort to sell newspapers.
"For us, we can see the issue is not about elections, the issue is about a long-planned activity of how they are going to take over the country," the union federation's second deputy president, Zingiswa Losi, said at a briefing on its May Day events.
"They are cooking now. The DA, Vavi all of them, they are cooking."
Losi suggested that the arms Malema had threatened to take up against the government were being sponsored by a third party.
Losi said Cosatu called on all citizens to be responsible.
Malema told Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull last week that if the ANC continued to respond violently to peaceful protests, "we will run out of patience very soon and we will remove this government through the barrel of a gun".
"I mean it literally. We are not scared. We are not going to have a government that disrespects us," he replied when asked if it meant people should literally take up arms.
First deputy president James Tyotyo said they found DA pamphlets at Cosatu House and that former DA leader Helen Zille had attempted to convince Vavi to join the DA in 2012.
"She said to him if you can come over, we can make a formidable partnership. The DA needs you. Subsequent to that, we found DA pamphlets at Cosatu House. It's nothing new. He must deny this one as he has denied he had a meeting," Tyotyo said.
Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini said they would oppose "marriages of convenience".
The Sunday Times reported that the official opposition had been courting Vavi.
The paper claimed DA leader Mmusi Maimane and Vavi met at a Johannesburg hotel on February 1 to discuss forming a coalition government in the highly-contested Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the Eastern Cape, should the ANC fail to win an outright majority there.
Vavi said on Sunday dismissed the report as an effort to sell newspapers.
Source - news24
