Julius Malema Responds to Naledi Chirwa’s Discipline and Reiterates EFF’s Support for Women

• EFF leader Julius Malema clarified that his party's position as an organisation that prioritises women
• Malema answered a question at the Wits School of Governance dialogue about the disciplinary action taken against Naledi Chirwa's discipline
• The leader explained that he was not involved in dishing out punishment to Chirwa and added that the young MP's supervisor is female

Zingisa Chirwa is an experienced Briefly News journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, who has covered politics and current affairs on the radio for over 15 years.

Julius Malema said the EFF is a party that puts women first.

He was responding to a question about Naledi Chirwa at the Wits School of Governance dialogues on 25 April 2024.

Malema explains he wasn’t involved in Chirwa’s discipline

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Malema clarified that he was not directly involved in Chirwa’s discipline and added that the MP’s supervisor was a woman. According to ZiMOJA, the leader explained that Chirwa failed to notify the party about her sick child, and they only learned about it on social media.

Chirwa was instructed to issue a public apology and fined two gazebos for failing to attend the Budget Speech in February 2024. In her letter, Chirwa stipulated that she missed the speech because she had to attend to her sick child.

The EFF received much backlash for the incident, with many believing that Chirwa’s drop on the party’s candidate list was punishment for missing the parliamentary sitting and the contents of the letter.

Netizens weigh in on Wits dialogue

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Many social media users who watched the Wits dialogue focused on the party’s foreign policies and not the Chirwa saga

@sbusirino13 said:

“Zimbabweans and Nigerians will really benefit.”

@bingbong1597 added:

“President of Clowns.”

@nsele_phumzile commented:

“Malema doesn't represent South Africans.”

@SavageSavo4 thought:

“A normal person can't vote for EFF.”

@TheMor9 said:

“One other good thing he mentioned about the employment database was that it gave me an idea that, since primary requirement for SAPS is Matric, Grade 12 and equivalents, why can't SAPS have the access to Umalusi and DPHE when they recruit?”

EFF’s Julius Malema speaks highly of Naledi Chirwa

Briefly News reported that Julius Malema put to rest any notion that the Red Berets have their guns out for Naledi Chirwa.

Malema curtly addressed the rumours that the organisation was oppressing Chirwa.

In an interview with JJ Tabane, the party leader cleared the air about Chirwa’s apology letter, which caused a social media uproar.

Source: Briefly News