OH dear, but even for Julius Malema, whose cloddish insensitivity is legendary, this was a step too far, an insult beyond the pale. He has touched us on our curry.
It was one thing for the chump to declare that the Economic Freedom Fighters would be disrupting President Jacob Zuma’s forthcoming State of the Nation Address. But to go for the bunny?
As expected, Malema’s press briefing on Thursday was a bellicose affair, and there came dire warnings that Zuma should not expect an easy fumble through his speech – especially if he failed to provide a credible explanation for the cavalier hiring and firing of finance ministers in December, a bit of three card monte that cost the economy an estimated R171-billion.
Not even the presence of Speaker Baleka Mbete’s White Shirts would deter the EFF, Malema said, and he was not afraid of forced ejection from Parliament’s chambers. These are words he may come to regret; they dress like waiters because that’s the business of the parliamentary protection services: dishing out the snotklappe.
And speaking of which, this may or may not be the sort of treatment those who work for media owned by Zuma’s allies, the controversial Gupta family, could expect should they cover EFF events.
At the same briefing, Malema described The New Age newspaper and the ANN7 TV channel as “propaganda machinery”, and warned these “protectors of corruption” would not be tolerated. Addressing their reporters, he said, somewhat ominously: “Sisters and brothers in Gupta firms we love you and don’t want you to be casualties. We cannot guarantee the safety of those printing New Age and ANN7.”