EFF Leader Julius Malema Says Seeing Zuma Going to Jail Was Painful

EFF Leader Julius Malema Says Seeing Zuma Going to Jail Was Painful

  • Julius Malema says he finds it disheartening that former president Jacob Zuma is currently in prison
  • The Economic Freedom Fighter's leader says he told Zuma to obey the Constitutional Court's court order to appear before the Zondo Commission
  • Malema went on to say that the unrest seen in the past weeks were not necessarily caused by Zuma's arrest

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Economic Freedom Fighter's political party leader Julius Malema has shared his sentiments in regard to the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma.

Speaking in an interview with SABC News, Malema stated that despite his differences with the former president he was not happy about his prison sentence.

EFF Leader Julius Malema Says Seeing Zuma Going To Jail Was Painful
EFF's Julius Malema says he finds it painful to think about former president Jacob Zuma's imprisonment. Images: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg & Phill Makgoe/AFP
Source: Getty Images

Zuma was recently sentenced by the Constitutional Court to serve 15-months for failing to adhere to a court order to appear before the State Capture Commission of Inquiry to give testimony.

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Malema further stated that although he previously advocated for Zuma to be removed from power, it did not mean that it was not painful to see Zuma being incarcerated. He went on to say that thinking about Zuma's arrest was painful for him according to, Eminetra.

Malema also brought up the infamous tea meeting at Nkandla last year and stated that he and Zuma got into a heated debate. He stated that he had tried to convince Zuma to obey the Constitutional Court's order and appear before the Zondo Commission.

Malema says factions within the ANC are responsible for the unrest

The red berets leader stated that the unrest seen in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in the past weeks were caused by friction within the ANC and were not necessarily caused by Zuma's arrest. He went on to say that Zuma's arrest was the catalyst.

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He stated that there were factions within the ANC that want to remove President Cyril Ramaphosa from power.

"They want to remove him[Ramaphosa] and they want to remove him in a manner that is not in keeping with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa," said Malema.

He stated that the motives of the unrest were purely political and Ramaphosa should have reacted in a political manner to the unrest instead of deploying the South African National Defence Force.

"Because if the president brings the army to the streets and is being challenged by civilians. And the army shots and kill[s] them, that is his exit by the way," he said.

EFF's Julius Malema says President Cyril Ramaphosa Is compromised by the Ruperts

In another report, Briefly News reported that moments before President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed South Africa on Sunday evening, EFF leader Julius Malema had harsh criticism of the sitting president, stating that he has been compromised by the Rupert family, Johann Rupert in particular.

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In the interview with SABC News to celebrate the party's 8th anniversary, Malema issued stern warnings to Ramaphosa and essentially declared war.

Malema asserted that Ramaphosa was not running South Africa and that in fact is allowing Johann Rupert to run the country by making important decisions with the ANC.

According to The South African, Malema stated that he had previously advised Ramaphosa to listen to his party as well as adhere to the resolutions put into place by the ANC.

He went on to further say that Ramaphosa seeking advice from Rupert meant that he had placed Rupert above the ANC National Executive Committee and his cabinet ministers. For that reason, Malema believes that Ramaphosa has become unreliable as a leader.

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Source: Briefly News

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