Ramaphosa, not Zille, dealt Mmusi Maimane's death blow, claims Malema

EFF leader Julius Malema has made a sensational claim that it was President Cyril Ramaphosa who led to the demise of former DA leader Mmusi Maimane - and not Helen Zille, who was recently elected the DA federal council chairperson.

Malema was addressing journalists on Monday at the Nasrec Expo, where the EFF will hold its second elective conference in December.

According to Malema, powerful individuals who funded the CR17 campaign that catapulted Ramaphosa to the ANC's top position in December 2017 were the same people as those who fund the DA.

These funders, he claimed, wanted the DA to be soft on Ramaphosa's presidency, but Maimane had defied them and this led to him being pushed out as he resigned from the party last week.

Malema said he knew this because some of the DA funders had told the EFF  they would get funding only if they worked together with Ramaphosa.

"Look at what Cyril did to Maimane. All of you are saying Helen Zille, Helen Zille. It is not Helen Zille, it is Cyril," said Malema.

"The day Maimane wrote a letter [to the public protector] and the public protector found against Cyril, Helen came out saying that was the most stupid thing to write [to Mkhwebane], and Tony Leon also came out saying the same. That is where the problems for Maimane started.

"Why? By writing the letter and e-mails coming out showing names, he exposed the funders who are the real owners of the DA," said Malema.

"Every time we fundraise, people say to us: 'Why do you not just work with Cyril?' Imagine if they can say that to us, what about Mmusi?"

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Malema believes Maimane and outgoing Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba, who also dumped the DA last week, tried to defy the instruction to work with Ramaphosa.

"They are being told, 'work with this man (Ramaphosa). This is our man', and Mmusi defied them. He thought he had life of his own, and they showed him who are the real owners.

"Go check the names in the e-mails of who funded CR17 and go compare notes with who is funding the DA. It is the same people. They told us to work with Cyril, and we told them it is not going to happen."