The EFF turned four yesterday and took its birthday celebrations to Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
The red berets were led by firebrand politician, Julius Malema, a former ANC Youth League (ANCYL) president expelled by the governing party along with, then spokesperson, Floyd Shivambu.
The party was formed at a gathering attended by over 1 000 delegates in Soweto in July 2013. The EFF’s main aim is to fight for the economic emancipation of the country’s majority and the expropriation of land without compensation.
Malema arrived in Durban this week to mobilise for the birthday celebrations, to be held at Curries Fountain on Saturday. On Tuesday, Malema addressed students at University of KwaZulu-Natal Westville campus and a community gathering in Claremont.
A year after its formation, the EFF went on to win 6% of the national vote in the 2014 general elections, has 25 MPs representing it in Parliament and others in provincial legislatures and municipalities.
Red berets have become synonymous with the EFF, whose MPs favour donning working-class attire such as overalls, hard hats and pinafores, shunning Parliament’s formal dress code worn by other political representatives.
The EFF had argued before the rules committee that it was given a mandate by over one million voters to wear clothes representing the working class.
Following last year’s highly contested local elections, the party emerged as the kingmaker, helping the DA to unseat the ANC in three metros – Joburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay, in the Eastern Cape.
EFF was at the forefront of a campaign by opposition parties to get President Jacob Zuma to pay back some of the millions of rand spent on his Nkandla home security upgrades.
The matter came to a climax when the Constitutional Court ruled last year that Zuma had failed to respect and uphold the constitution, and the National Assembly was complacent in not holding him accountable.
The court instructed the Treasury to determine the amount that Zuma should pay back into state coffers.
The president had previously refused to pay, arguing that then-public protector Thuli Madonsela’s recommendations, contained in her Nkandla report, were merely recommendations and, therefore, not binding.
Malema had his court battles lodged by the SA Revenue Services (Sars) over unpaid taxes and failure to register his Ratanang Family Trust for tax purposes.
Subsequently, the revenue collector attached some of Malema’s properties to recoup millions in taxes.
The EFF leader has accused Sars of pursuing a “politically motivated” case against him. Malema insists he honoured an agreement with Sars to pay outstanding taxes.
The case is yet to be concluded.