Malema: Ramaphosa not our friend, will be treated like Zuma

EFF leader Julius Malema has appealed to young people in the country to take on the administration of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Malema, speaking at a virtual EFF Youth Day rally, took aim at Ramaphosa’s government for having lost the plot by easing the Covid-19 lockdown regulations and being friends of the “capitalist establishment”.

According to the firebrand former ANCYL leader, Ramaphosa had been “captured” by wealth white families in the 1970s.

It was at that stage that Ramaphosa became part of the capitalist establishment and its agenda to exploit the black majority, Malema charged.

After taking the heat over his previous public speech in which he insulted Ramaphosa, Malema said he was not going to apologise as he maintains that the president did not deserve his or anyone’s respect.

Malema said the EFF was not friends with Ramaphosa and his administration.

In fact, now was the time to maintain an offensive against Ramaphosa in every way possible like the EFF did to former president Jacob Zuma.

Malema said even if they were criticised for their onslaught on Ramaphosa, that only inspired them to up the ante.

“Why are we called upon to respect a man who is now risking the lives of our people. Cyril Ramaphosa is a miscourage of history and we must fight tooth and nail to remove him from office. [sic]

“Who are you to tell us how we must treat a man who has got no respect for our people?”

Malema said as a young person, he needed no approval from old people on who becomes his political opponent or what becomes his political mission.

This attitude, he added, should apply to all young people who want to effect meaningful change.

Like Nelson Mandela who was painted as a chaotic and reckless person in his early political life only to be hoisted as a global icon later, Malema said history would absolve him.

Said Malema: “They called Mandela disrespectful and adventurous and a terrorist and the same people today are saying Mandela is a hero every time they want to hypnotise the youth of SA.

“They called the youth of 1976 reckless, who are you to seek approval of elderly people to fight for what is just?

“Stop being a coward you are young.”

Malema said Ramaphosa did not deserve respect because of his “questionable morals”.

Opposing Ramaphosa head on was now the EFF’s agenda because he had gone off the rails.

“Ramaphosa is doing exactly what Zuma did, what is the point of not treating him the same way we did with Zuma?” said Malema.

“We are not friends of Ramaphosa, even he himself must know that our calling him does not make us his friends, we will never be friends with him.

“If we are talking nonsense Ramaphosa has all resources of the state and of capital, he can sue us, we challenge him to sue us because we speak truth to power.”