Declared a no-go area for the EFF‚ KZN now ‘home and hope’ of party‚ says Khanyile

Bonginkosi Khanyile's voice is loud and clear‚ and those around him don't just hear him but lap up every word.

Perhaps the EFF's most famous supporter‚ student leader Khanyile spent Saturday morning drumming up support for the party ahead of its fourth birthday party at Curries Fountain in Durban. Standing outside the Standard Bank branch across the road from the Durban University of Technology's Steve Biko Campus‚ Khanyile told fellow fighters that the climate was right to paint KwaZulu-Natal red.

Describing commander-in-chief Julius Malema as "the incoming president of the country"‚ Khanyile told fervent party backers: "KwaZulu-Natal has been declared a no-go area for the EFF. But today we are proud to say this is the home and hope of the EFF."

Khanyile also took a swipe at police‚ saying that they don't treat student protests and students activists the same way as they do in Gauteng. But nonetheless‚ he said he was proud of the young people who had thrown their weight behind the EFF.

"We are saying‚ with the commitment you have‚ comrades‚ the future looks too bright. We are saying‚ with the energy you are showing‚ KZN is very promising‚" he said.

As Khanyile and the students headed into the ground‚ so too did Malema. At about 1.45pm‚ he and his top lieutenants arrived to euphoric chants from the crowd.