Ramaphosa has allowed the state to be humiliated - Malema defends EFF intent to protest in Senekel

15th October 2020 By: News24Wire

Ramaphosa has allowed the state to be humiliated - Malema defends EFF intent to protest in Senekel

EFF leader Julius Malema

Economic Freedom (EFF) Fighters leader Julius Malema has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa and Police Minister Bheki Cele of allowing the government to be humiliated by enabling what he called "white arrogance".

In a televised interview with Newzroom Afrika on Thursday, Malema defended the EFF's intention to protest at the Senekal Magistrate's Court in the Free State on Friday for what he said was the protection of South Africa's democracy and Constitution.

"We really are not going to Senekal to sympathise with a thug. We are going to Senekal to protect our democracy, our constitution which is under threat by racist, terrorist farmers who go and attack a court of law and attack police stations. That is a declaration of war against the state. If the current regime can't defend the state, we have a responsibility as peace-loving South Africans to defend our state against hooliganism, against terrorism," he said.

The EFF leader bemoaned the government's inaction against protesters who vandalised police resources, further lamenting what he termed the state's inability to intervene decisively when white people were involved.

On 6 October, a protest against farm murders at the court appearance of farm manager Brendin Horner's alleged murderers turned violent when a group of farmers stormed the court building. A police vehicle was also overturned and set alight.

The EFF has been accused of inciting violence and using the Senekal incident for political gain.

Democratic Alliance chief whip Natasha Mazzone laid criminal charges for incitement of violence at the Cape Town Central police station against Malema and EFF MP Nazier Paulsen over social media posts against the backdrop of last week's events in Senekal.

On Monday, Cele said he met with Malema and would soon meet with Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald to ensure that peace prevails in Senekal on Friday when the men accused of murdering Horner appears in court.

Malema, however, said: "I told him that you are scared of white people, there is too much white arrogance. You have allowed it because your president was bought by white people.

"I was saying to the minister, 'your president who is adopted by a white family, has allowed these people to develop this arrogance and we are not going to allow him or you through your actions to make white people to be arrogant and want to subject black people to humiliation'. Once you humiliate police, you are humiliating a black state and directly you are humiliating black people and that pain we suffered through apartheid is resurrected and we go through it again," he said.