Malema: 'How I wish President Putin could make a turn in Cape Town'

EFF leader Julius Malema has challenged premier Alan Winde on his promise that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be arrested if he “sets foot in the Western Cape”.

Winde this week slammed President Cyril Ramaphosa for inviting Putin to South Africa despite a warrant for Putin's arrest.

“If the Russian leader sets foot in the Western Cape, we as the provincial government will have him arrested by Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers. If the SA Police Service is unable or unwilling to act, then we must,” said Winde.

Malema said he would like to see what would happen if Putin landed in Cape Town.

“How I wish President Putin could make a turn at Leeuwenhof Gardens, Cape Town. I just want to see something,” he said.

EFF deputy leader Floyd Shivambu said Putin will not be arrested.

“Winde is a clown like the other clown who’s declared the EFF his number one enemy. Putin will not be arrested, and all that's happening in Eastern Europe will culminate in the reconfiguration of global balance of forces, which will replace unipolarity with multi-polarity. Clowns will dwindle into insignificance,” he said

Former finance minister Tito Mboweni said: “When I was a member of the cabinet, I was troubled that premier Alan Winde seemed to suffer from some undefined sense of superiority. I could not figure it out,” said Mboweni.

Winde said he was disturbed at the government's stand on Putin.

“The Western Cape government will not only fight for the fundamental rights and freedoms of our citizens, but is also willing to show solidarity with Ukraine by taking a stand against the brute force unleashed on its civilians by Russia.

“I am disturbed by how the ANC national government is focused on taking steps to ensure the freedom of Vladimir Putin instead of focusing on securing freedoms for South Africans, many of whom are not free from fear, and have yet to achieve economic freedom 29 years into our democracy,” he said.

Earlier this month, Ramaphosa said the government was still applying its mind on how to handle the International Criminal Court’s warrant of arrest issued against Putin, who is expected to attend the Brics summit in South Africa in August.

“It is a matter that is under consideration. We are waiting for Brics members to indicate whether they are coming,” said Ramaphosa.

“As the chair of Brics, naturally we issue invitations to all the members and obviously they will indicate themselves whether they are able to come. We have noted what the ICC has said in relation to President Putin and we are still discussing the matter.”

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