Malema on Zuma: 'He must choose if he wants to be an activist or pensioner'

EFF leader Julius Malema says former president Jacob Zuma does not know when to stop and should decide whether he wants to stay in politics or enjoy his retirement.

In an interview with the SABC on Tuesday, Malema weighed in on the former president campaigning for the ruling party and urging the masses to vote for it in the local government elections on November 1.

“Zuma doesn't know when to stop. He must accept he is a pensioner. Now he is busy recording videos, he is inviting us back into his life. We have not even commented about his parole.

“He must choose if he still wants to be an activist or if he wants to be a pensioner. If he wants to come back, then he will find us ready for him,” said Malema. 

The JG Zuma Foundation shared a video on Tuesday of the former president urging South Africans to vote for the ANC in the elections.

Zuma said South Africans who do not want to vote should “stand up” and vote for the ANC.

“It is time for the local government elections. I have been listening to a lot of people who have, for certain reasons, decided not to vote. I was touched by that and decided to appeal to those people to stand up and vote for the ANC, the party that brought us freedom,” he said. 

Malema explained that the EFF campaigning for leadership in KwaZulu-Natal had nothing to do with the disgruntlement of Zuma's supporters who protested against his arrest in July and the internal squabbles in the ANC.

He said Zuma was no longer an issue in politics, as he was retired, and claimed that people in KZN had long called for the EFF to campaign in the province.

“The people of KZN want services, they are hungry. We saw during the protest in July that these people are calling for a caring government to come and look after them.”