Everything in KZN smells of Zuma and corruption - Malema
Durban – Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema said on Sunday everything in the province of KwaZulu-Natal “smelled of President Jacob Zuma" and corruption.
Addressing more than 1 500 supporters after visiting detained #FeesMustFall leader Bonginkosi Khanyile at the Westville Correctional Service Centre, Malema said he believed that the province was corrupt and that was the reason why the student was still behind bars while other student leaders around the country had been released.
He said he sympathised with the Khanyile family, which had spent both Christmas and New Year’s without their son.
“We are with you, we have assembled the most powerful legal brains in our country to release him from prison but we all know that in KZN it is very difficult.
“I don’t want to be arrested in KZN, I would rather be arrested anywhere else in the country, [but] not in KZN because everything here smells of Zuma. Everything here smells of corruption and we must reject that, we don’t want a biased judicial system.”
‘You gave birth to a hero’
He said the Khanyile family was fortunate that their child was among those who had taken the risk to fight for noble cause.
“You gave birth to a child, you are not like [Former president FW] De Klerk’s mother, who gave birth to a reject. You gave birth to a hero of our struggle."
Khanyile was arrested in September during the Fees Must Fall protests and has remained behind bars despite the release of other student leaders around the country.
Among the charges are that he was in possession of a dangerous weapon and assault.
Malema visited the student and was accompanied by the party’s top leaders including Dali Mpofu, Floyd Shivambu, Godrich Gardee.
They first met Khanyile’s mother, Phumzile Khathini, before going inside the prison to see him.
Malema questioned why Khanyile had not been released adding that there were three things that one needed to abide by in order to be granted bail.
“You must not be a flight risk, he is not. You must not threaten or intimidate witnesses, he cannot threaten any witness because the witnesses are police, how can you threaten the police?
“You must also not break your bail conditions - they say that he has broken his bail conditions because he was released earlier and he was told to refrain from attending any illegal gathering.”
‘They want to make Zuma happy’
Malema said authorities needed to first investigate whether the gathering Khanyile had attended was illegal.
“On which grounds are they keeping him in prison? They keep him in prison because they want to make Zuma happy. Zuma said they must break everything that is supporting the #FeesMustFall movement," Malema claimed.
“We support #FeesMustFall, we pay bail for those who are arrested for #FeesMustFall, we hire lawyers for those who are arrested for #FeesMustFall, and not just any lawyers, quality lawyers. And that is what we have done for our arrested fighter. We have done it around the whole country and we have even done it for the ANC arrested fellows like Mcebo Dlamini.
“His ANC could not help him, he had to be rescued by the EFF. That is how good we are, we even rescue the ANC people because their organisation is useless.”
Reading the right books
Malema thanked the party’s supporters for coming to show support adding that “you did not waste your time”.
“Bonginkosi is very happy, his morale was down [when we saw him] but when we told him that you were outside he said to us that his spirit was lifted and revived and he is looking forward to continuing the fight of #FeesMustFall.
“Even in prison he will continue to fight and [we must] convince others... [to] bring more books for him so that he can read more and when he leaves this prison, he will be a graduate of life because he would have read all the books in this country.”
Malema quipped saying that he cautioned Khanyile to read the right books “which will make him a solid revolutionary."
He urged members to get the contact numbers for their regional and provincial student leaders.
“If you have time just pass by to give him the support.”
“They have not arrested him [Khanyile], they have arrested the cause of free education. They want to break the spirits of those who are fighting for free education but that spirit will never be broken.”
We have humbled them
Malema on said he could not believe that the mighty ANC would one day celebrate its 105th year anniversary at a small venue like Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
“We have humbled them,” he told the crowd of supporters after visiting detained student activist Bonginkosi Khanyile at the Westville Correctional Services Centre in Durban.
“I know the ANC. I worked with them, I know when they are hurting and they are hurting extremely right now. Inhliziyo yabo ibuhlungu,” he said in isiZulu.
“They are in trouble. Look at what happened in Soweto today. One hundred to 200 buses from KZN were driven to Soweto. A place that has six million people…But you go and fetch people from Nkandla go to a rally in Soweto.”
ANC might lose KZN support, EFF leader warns
He said 12 000 ANC members were bused in from Mpumalanga.
“That is concession - they are conceding that it is over. Gauteng is gone, if KZN is not focused, it will also go, like Gauteng.
“The taking of people from all over to fill up a small stadium [like] Orlando Stadium - the EFF must celebrate [that] because the ANC used to hold rallies at FNB [stadium]. The arrival of the EFF has removed the ANC from the FNB [stadium] to an Orlando Stadium.”
Malema said seeing the party hold its bash in Orlando Stadium was enough for it to celebrate.
“We have humbled them. They now know what it means [to be humble]. We had a rally in Orlando Stadium without a single bus.
“We held our last rally at Peter Mokaba Stadium - that stadium is bigger than Orlando Stadium, it takes 45 000. The ANC, which used to go to FNB, now goes to a stadium like Orlando and takes a microphone and tells the masses that it is recovering.
“Recovering from what? Because this is what happens when you are led by uneducated people. He [President Jacob Zuma] just goes with the flow, I am sure he thinks Orlando Stadium is bigger than FNB, it is possible.”
Filling up a ‘small’ stadium
Malema said people were not bused in from other provinces when it held its own rally at Orlando Stadium.
“We never transported anyone from outside Gauteng. Even if we wanted to, we don’t have the money to."
He said the ANC should be ashamed instead of proudly “and convincingly saying that it is a national rally by bringing people from all over to come and fill up a small stadium".
“We are happy, we have humbled them, who ever thought that in your lifetime that a 105 years movement would hold a rally at Orlando Stadium?
“When you see that the ANC is dying and you are still following, that is blind loyalty. This is your home, this is an alternative for black people.
Governing with the DA
“Never mind that we voted with the DA, tactics are more important than the strategy. How you arrive at your strategy is critical.
“We have never abandoned the strategic notion of the EFF - that is why we are not with them in government, because we cannot co-govern with white monopoly capital. But we want to remove the ANC.”
For now, he said, the party would help "white monopoly capital" to remove the ANC.
“When you remove the ANC you remove resources from the ANC and an ANC without resources, is like the EFF. We are equal.
“We cannot govern with the DA, we are not friends with the DA, tactics are what is important.”
He said the EFF would return the land to black South Africans so that they would able to call the country "home" again.
