Opinion / Columnist
Malema: Curse of an 'ox-brain'
26 Jan 2017 at 00:41hrs | Views
South Africa's Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema made demeaning statements against President Mugabe during the launch of his party's 2017 action plan in Braamfontein, South Africa.
Malema claimed that President Mugabe was failing to execute the duties of the Office of the President and that he was destroying his legacy by clinging to power.
In the same statement, Malema criticised what he referred to as "cowards" among senior Zanu-PF officials for failing to confront President Mugabe to demand his resignation. It is important to remind readers that Malema made similar claims to the media during a memorial service for Cuba's late former president, Fidel Castro in Soweto on December 2, 2016.
Malema is quoted calling on President Mugabe to step down. He was quoted as saying that "we love President Mugabe, but we need a new leader.
"Mugabe must pass on the baton just as Castro passed it on".
This is very surprising coming from Malema, to say the least. Malema is on record for idolising President Mugabe.
He is among young African politicians whom we all thought were on the way to becoming one of the continent's future leaders. Malema rose from the grassroots of the governing African National Congress (ANC) Youth League to become its president.
He exuded great enthusiasm and revolutionary spirit. At one point he questioned why poor people continued to vote without a corresponding improvement in their social status.
He popularised the view that the South African and Zimbabwe's political revolutions should naturally have been followed by economic revolutions to complete the emancipation of the previously marginalised masses in the sister countries.
This resonated well with the land reclamation exercise that had already been implemented in Zimbabwe.
He was on a mission to import the same economic revolution into South Africa, we thought.
Apparently, Malema became "too powerful" and undisciplined within the ANC that he started to challenge the party's leadership on various key issues.
This resulted in his expulsion.
Banking on a misplaced sense of indispensability and political clout, Malema went on to form his own Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party. The party has won some few inconsequential seats in the various provincial legislatures and the national legislature in the country.
Malema is riding on the frustration among the poor South Africans over the perceived slow pace of transformation since the end of apartheid in 1994. The overriding sentiment among the poor in that country is that the Black Economic Empowerment programme has only created a token millionaires, among them Malema, who is reported to own several luxurious houses and stays in the posh Sandton suburb, among the whites elite.
No wonder why the then editor of the South African Times newspaper, Mondi Makhanya once posited in 2010 that Malema would "press the self-destruct button" in the next few years.
This has happened during our lifetime.
The utterances by Malema were deservedly castigated by South Africa's Pan Africanist Congress, which issued a condemnation through its spokesperson, Kenneth Mokgatlhe, saying that "he (Malema) was instructed to destabilise not only the governing party, but the entire country.
"He is again entrusted with the mammoth task of dethroning the African hero of our liberation, Uncle Bob".
Mokgathle added that, "We are not humbled by Malema's attack on Zimbabwe's freedom fighter and its President‚ Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
"Everyone knows the contribution that Comrade Mugabe played in the liberation of the occupied Azania.
Harare played a crucial role in training our military from both the MK‚ APLA and AZANLA.
"We will support Harare when that need arises."
How shameful for a growing politician like Malema to be corrected by the pan-African comrades who have seen through his machinations!
The statement by the PAC goes a long way to show how President Mugabe is respected in the region, the African continent and across the struggling Third World as a statesman of impeccable integrity.
"It also exposes Malema as an agent of the West in the making. It could be that Malema is seeking to court the attention of the remnants of Rhodesian capital resident in South Africa and the newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump for funding through his acerbic attacks on the integrity of President Mugabe.
It is not true that President Mugabe has become a political liability.
In their proven political wisdom, all ZANU-PF provinces have endorsed the iconic leader as the party's candidate for the 2018 Presidential elections.
This is an affirmation of his nomination as the party's candidate for the same elections at the party's Congress held in Harare in December 2014.
President Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba said as much when he indicated that "we are going to have a ZANU-PF Mugabe candidature for the 2018 elections and we will win resoundingly".
The clamouring for an alternative candidate by Zimbabwe's opposition parties is testimony to their fear of definitely losing the 2018 elections to President Mugabe.
Otherwise, if they were certain of defeating him, they should, instead, welcome him as a weak and beatable candidate.
Malema's insult to ZANU-PF members for allegedly being "cowards", who are afraid of confronting President Mugabe is a calculated move to incite them to revolt against the leadership of President Mugabe.
Such incitement will not find takers among the revolutionary ZANU-PF leadership. ZANU-PF has a solid way of managing its internal issues, the succession issue included. Malema once declared that he would "kill for Jacob Zuma".
Today, he has crossed paths with President Zuma. He has now changed his tune vowing that henceforth he will work to topple the same Zuma he helped to propel to power.
How confused!
On previous visits to Harare when he met President Mugabe, Malema would praise the iconic statesman as a shining example of a true revolutionary. He indicated that he was coming for consultations with the ZANU-PF Youth League on how issues of empowerment and indigenisation could be implemented across the region.
It is the same Malema who is now seeing evil in President Mugabe whom he used to idolise and consult. The zeal with which Malema gets lost in the political maze could be likened to the description given to an Italian 19th century politician, Giuseppe Garibaldi, that he had "the strength of a lion but the brains of an ox".
Such a combination is dangerous, not only for South Africa, but the entire region and the progressive world. Malema sees himself as a kingmaker. He once called for regime change in Botswana, which diplomatic gaffe forced the ANC to issue an apology to the Botswana Democratic Party. Such is the political liability that Malema has become.
Malema claimed that President Mugabe was failing to execute the duties of the Office of the President and that he was destroying his legacy by clinging to power.
In the same statement, Malema criticised what he referred to as "cowards" among senior Zanu-PF officials for failing to confront President Mugabe to demand his resignation. It is important to remind readers that Malema made similar claims to the media during a memorial service for Cuba's late former president, Fidel Castro in Soweto on December 2, 2016.
Malema is quoted calling on President Mugabe to step down. He was quoted as saying that "we love President Mugabe, but we need a new leader.
"Mugabe must pass on the baton just as Castro passed it on".
This is very surprising coming from Malema, to say the least. Malema is on record for idolising President Mugabe.
He is among young African politicians whom we all thought were on the way to becoming one of the continent's future leaders. Malema rose from the grassroots of the governing African National Congress (ANC) Youth League to become its president.
He exuded great enthusiasm and revolutionary spirit. At one point he questioned why poor people continued to vote without a corresponding improvement in their social status.
He popularised the view that the South African and Zimbabwe's political revolutions should naturally have been followed by economic revolutions to complete the emancipation of the previously marginalised masses in the sister countries.
This resonated well with the land reclamation exercise that had already been implemented in Zimbabwe.
He was on a mission to import the same economic revolution into South Africa, we thought.
Apparently, Malema became "too powerful" and undisciplined within the ANC that he started to challenge the party's leadership on various key issues.
This resulted in his expulsion.
Banking on a misplaced sense of indispensability and political clout, Malema went on to form his own Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party. The party has won some few inconsequential seats in the various provincial legislatures and the national legislature in the country.
Malema is riding on the frustration among the poor South Africans over the perceived slow pace of transformation since the end of apartheid in 1994. The overriding sentiment among the poor in that country is that the Black Economic Empowerment programme has only created a token millionaires, among them Malema, who is reported to own several luxurious houses and stays in the posh Sandton suburb, among the whites elite.
No wonder why the then editor of the South African Times newspaper, Mondi Makhanya once posited in 2010 that Malema would "press the self-destruct button" in the next few years.
This has happened during our lifetime.
The utterances by Malema were deservedly castigated by South Africa's Pan Africanist Congress, which issued a condemnation through its spokesperson, Kenneth Mokgatlhe, saying that "he (Malema) was instructed to destabilise not only the governing party, but the entire country.
"He is again entrusted with the mammoth task of dethroning the African hero of our liberation, Uncle Bob".
Mokgathle added that, "We are not humbled by Malema's attack on Zimbabwe's freedom fighter and its President‚ Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
"Everyone knows the contribution that Comrade Mugabe played in the liberation of the occupied Azania.
Harare played a crucial role in training our military from both the MK‚ APLA and AZANLA.
"We will support Harare when that need arises."
How shameful for a growing politician like Malema to be corrected by the pan-African comrades who have seen through his machinations!
The statement by the PAC goes a long way to show how President Mugabe is respected in the region, the African continent and across the struggling Third World as a statesman of impeccable integrity.
"It also exposes Malema as an agent of the West in the making. It could be that Malema is seeking to court the attention of the remnants of Rhodesian capital resident in South Africa and the newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump for funding through his acerbic attacks on the integrity of President Mugabe.
It is not true that President Mugabe has become a political liability.
In their proven political wisdom, all ZANU-PF provinces have endorsed the iconic leader as the party's candidate for the 2018 Presidential elections.
This is an affirmation of his nomination as the party's candidate for the same elections at the party's Congress held in Harare in December 2014.
President Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba said as much when he indicated that "we are going to have a ZANU-PF Mugabe candidature for the 2018 elections and we will win resoundingly".
The clamouring for an alternative candidate by Zimbabwe's opposition parties is testimony to their fear of definitely losing the 2018 elections to President Mugabe.
Otherwise, if they were certain of defeating him, they should, instead, welcome him as a weak and beatable candidate.
Malema's insult to ZANU-PF members for allegedly being "cowards", who are afraid of confronting President Mugabe is a calculated move to incite them to revolt against the leadership of President Mugabe.
Such incitement will not find takers among the revolutionary ZANU-PF leadership. ZANU-PF has a solid way of managing its internal issues, the succession issue included. Malema once declared that he would "kill for Jacob Zuma".
Today, he has crossed paths with President Zuma. He has now changed his tune vowing that henceforth he will work to topple the same Zuma he helped to propel to power.
How confused!
On previous visits to Harare when he met President Mugabe, Malema would praise the iconic statesman as a shining example of a true revolutionary. He indicated that he was coming for consultations with the ZANU-PF Youth League on how issues of empowerment and indigenisation could be implemented across the region.
It is the same Malema who is now seeing evil in President Mugabe whom he used to idolise and consult. The zeal with which Malema gets lost in the political maze could be likened to the description given to an Italian 19th century politician, Giuseppe Garibaldi, that he had "the strength of a lion but the brains of an ox".
Such a combination is dangerous, not only for South Africa, but the entire region and the progressive world. Malema sees himself as a kingmaker. He once called for regime change in Botswana, which diplomatic gaffe forced the ANC to issue an apology to the Botswana Democratic Party. Such is the political liability that Malema has become.
Source - the herald
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