Tshwarelo Hunter Mogakane
Pretoria - EFF MP Naledi Chirwa has expressed annoyance over a newspaper article that sought to compare her party president, Julius Malema, with ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.
According to the article, Malema had finally met his match in the newly elected secretary-general because both were outspoken politicians. However, EFF supporters, including National Assembly member Naledi Nokukhanya Chirwa, disagree.
“Literally, no comparison. We don’t think of Mbalula when whites are abusing workers and beating up black children at public pools. We don’t think of Mbalula when faced with worker issues, land issues. We think of Mbalula when we hit potholes. Put some respect on Julius Malema!" said Chirwa.
Chirwa has asserted herself as a political fighter, often upsetting National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula with some of her radical utterances. Her stance on the comparison was supported by political analyst Jamie Mighti, who said the ANC had attempted unsuccessfully to match Malema with their youthful NEC members.
“In my opinion, you can’t beat Julius Malema at the game of loud politics or diss speeches. He perfected that genre 15 years ago. That’s home court for him,” Mighti said.
Twitter users who joined the fray also found it strange that anyone could place Mbalula on Malema’s level.
Nkateko Enigma labelled the comparison “nonsense”, saying Mbalula was not a president of the ANC, while Malema was a founder of a political party.
“Mxm, if they had confidence in him they should have just made him the president of the ANC angisho CIC @Julius_S_Malema is the president of the EFF. You dare not reduce our president like that,” said Enigma.
@ForveOfForces wrote: “Why must he challenge Malema? We are not in a ‘Game of Thrones’ here, we are in a revolution. We are not contesting for positions like in the ANC. We are choosing leaders who are capable to lead the revolution and Malema is the chosen one.”
One Cabonena Alfred went as far as labelling Malema a public speaker skilled in lying. “Julius Malema has an incredible ability to mislead, lie and defraud; he is so skilful at political intrigue that the vast majority of people in South Africa not only believed him, but adore him as Messiah. Nobody could compete with him in the art of intrigue,” Alfred wrote.
Known in some circles as enemies in public but friends in private, Mbalula and Malema do share an interesting, if not intriguing, political history.
Mbalula has been credited for setting a template for Malema’s leadership style when he vacated the ANC Youth League presidency, leaving Malema to take the reins. Their relationship has undoubtedly been marked with contradictions, with Malema displaying some form of respect for Mbalula.
It remains to be seen how Mbalula will navigate his new political responsibilities following his election to the ANC Top 7 last month.
Pretoria News