EFF President Julius Malema Compared to Kanye West After UK Bans Him From Entry
- A netizen caused debate when she compared Economic Freedom Fighter president Julius Malema to musician Ye, formerly known as Kanye West
- This was after the Wireless music festival in the UK, which Ye was set to headline, was cancelled
- Malema was blocked from entering the UK in May 2025, and the comparison between the two drew sharp comments online
Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, covered local and international politics, political analysis, and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his 10 years of experience.
Source: Getty Images
SOUTH AFRICA— Multi-award-winning musician Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has been compared with firebrand Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) president Julius Malema. Ye has been banned from entering the United Kingdom, a fate the Red Berets leader experienced when his visa application was denied in May 2025.
Lisa the First posted a tweet on her @Lisathe_first X account on 7 April 2026. Her post came after the Wireless music festival in the United Kingdom was cancelled. According to The Guardian, Ye applied to travel to the UK electronically, but his application was blocked. The Wireless Festival said on its Facebook page that ticketholders to the event will be refunded fully.
View the post on X here:
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Ye reportedly offered to meet and listen to members of the United Kingdom’s Jewish Community after he received widespread backlash for making antisemitic remarks. He later apologised and attributed his remarks and actions to his bipolar disorder.
Source: Getty Images
Why was Julius Malema banned?
Malema was banned at the last minute from entering the UK on 7 May 2025. The University of Cambridge had invited him to its 11th Annual Cambridge Africa Together Conference, which was to take place on 10 May 2025. Malema criticised the British High Commission and accused it of attempting to silence a dissenting political perspective.
The British High Commissioner in South Africa, Antony Phillipson, apologised a day later for the denial of Malema’s visa application. He explained that Malema’s visa application could not be finalised because of the timing of bank holidays in the UK. He said he was willing to refund all the application costs.
South Africans debate comparison
Netizens engaged in a heated discussion. Some strongly refuted the comparison.
WentworthGSideZA said:
“Don’t group the two.”
Popefranci56915 said:
“You can’t compare this idiot with Kanye.”
Hlonitshwayo remarked:
“The Semitic people are vulnerable, so being an anti-Semite is a no-go zone.
Mpondo Lase Natal observed:
“Kanye is not an African. And another thing is you cannot put him in the same sentence with Malema.”
Makhaza Onsundu slammed the UK.
“It’s absolutely tragic that today the UK is so fragile that it can be destroyed by the mere exchange of ideas. Neither is the UK today capable of arguing its position or successfully refuting contrary ideas. It cowardly relies on banning people and their ideas. What a shame.”
Musa Khawula doubles down on Malema divorce allegations
In a related article, Briefly News reported that controversial blogger and social media influencer Musa Khawula doubled down on his allegations that Malema was headed for a divorce. Malema previously denied the allegations and allegedly instituted legal actions against Khawula.
Khawula said that he would not apologise to Malema. He added that close sources allegedly repeatedly confirmed the end of his marriage, though he did not provide evidence to substantiate his claim.
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Source: Briefly News
