The emperor is naked, he doesn't have people - Malema on ANC rally turnout

Pretoria - The failure of the ANC and its president, Jacob Zuma, to fill the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth was a clear indication that the ANC was dead, according to Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema.

He was addressing thousands of party members in Mamelodi during the Solomon Mahlangu Memorial Rally on Saturday.

"The ANC is history, Zuma is history, and the ANC was buried with Nelson Mandela. That was the end of the ANC. This is the future.

"We told you and we were not lying. Zuma is hyperventilating. If he can't fill a stadium, it means it is over for the ANC. If you ever doubted that, bye bye," he said to loud cheers and chants.

Malema told EFF members that before coming to the event, he watched what was happening in PE.

"The emperor is naked, he doesn't have people. He is walking in the stadium alone. Zuma thought he would get 100 000 people in PE, but they are not there. He will even go and check in the rubbish bin, thinking they are inside.

"Zupta, wherever he is, he is doing below average things. I was watching proceedings in PE where Zuma is. The stadium couldn't be filled. Zuma failed to fill up the stadium in PE."

Those who still had hope that Zuma would continue to have the backing of the masses following recent developments in the country, were slowly getting a wake-up call, Malema said.

He said the EFF was able to fill their venue with just people from Tshwane, while the ANC had bussed people from all over the country.

"They had buses from Limpopo, but still the stadium is not full. It's over for Zuma. If you thought Zuma was going to survive, then you're left with Zuma alone."

This article first appeared on News24 – see here.