Julius Malema Says White South Africans Are Land Thieves, SA Annoyed As He Calls for Expropriation
- Julius Malema accused white people of being land thieves because they were in possession of stolen goods
- The leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters said his party would expropriate farms and hand them to farm workers
- South Africans criticised Malema for his comments, saying that he was causing racial division
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Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent ten years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism
Julius Malema has once again reiterated his stance that there needs to be expropriation without compensation.
The leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters has maintained that his party would expropriate farms and hand them to farm workers if they were to come into power.
Malema made the comments at the Sophiatown Extreme Park in Johannesburg on Sunday, 7 April, but his comments didn’t sit well with everyone.
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Malema says land must be returned to workers
During his speech, Malema stated that the farms needed to be returned to the farm workers, because it’s them that works the land.
“It is black people who are driving tractors, harvesting and know how to work the land. We require no white supervision. Let the farms be returned to the farm workers,” he said.
Malema claims white people are thieves
The Red Berets leader also criticised white South Africans, saying that they are thieves because they were in possession of stolen goods, which was the land.
“They must be reminded all the time that they are thieves. When they say, ‘I am not a thief, I was born after 1994’, tell them anyone in possession of stolen goods is a criminal, therefore they are thieves too,” Malema said.
He added that if they didn’t want to continue their parents’ legacy, they needed to return the stolen land to the rightful owners.
South Africans unhappy with Malema’s comments
The EFF leader’s comments didn’t sit well with everyone, as people criticised him for being divisive.
Bafanas Godrich Wasemzini said:
“Half of farm labourers are foreign nationals. I don't support this. That would be like giving our country away. Look in the cities, South Africans are living in informal settlements while foreign nationals are living in our hijacked buildings.”
Selunathi Thompson urged:
“Juju, if you can put racism aside and do this expropriation in the right manner and follow all law procedures. Yes, most of these farm owners are white, but we got black farmers as well. If you can expropriate all the land that is not used to benefit our economy, then it's fine. But do so in all races. We can't have people owning large land but aren’t doing anything with it. And I think that's why most white farmers owners are afraid, because they own huge land that isn’t benefitting our economy. Then you can expropriate that land, and it should be given to those who will put it to good use, or the government should own it. Finish and klaar😌.”
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Trish Cook asked:
“The government currently owns the most land in SA. Why not develop/ give that land to whomever for reparation purposes and keep commercial farms operating so that we - as a nation can continue to eat.”
Freddy Mcapukisi said:
“Really? He knows that won't happen. There won't be land grabs here. The process of land expropriation will be done in an orderly manner. It was irresponsible of him to make such a reckless statement.
Rainier Swartz added:
“This one loves to incite violence and divide a country.”
Maz Tina claimed:
“He has a tendency for inciting racial hatred among us, but he won't win. We are not stupid.”
Understanding the Expropriation bill
The expropriation bill signed into effect in January 2025 sets out how the state can expropriate land in the public interest. The government stated that the new bill brings expropriation laws in line with Section 25 of the Constitution. This section acknowledges expropriation as a vital tool that allows the state to acquire private property for a public purpose or in the public interest.
The government may therefore expropriate land without compensation and it allows state organs to take all types of properties.
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Source: Briefly News
