Julius Malema and his fellow senior leaders in the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are bracing for a tough inaugural national elective conference on Sunday, amid fears of violence and disruption by some of the party’s disgruntled members.
Delegates arriving for the inaugural conference, known as the National People’s Assembly, were yesterday confronted by tight security at the Dr Böhmer Secondary School in Bloemfontein, the venue for accreditation and registration.
The four-day conference, which starts today, is being held at the University of the Free State, a few streets away from the school.
The Sunday Independent understands that as many as 100 security guards supplied by Tactical Security, a Durban-based outfit, were bussed to the conference venue on Friday.
A source within the security company said they were contracted to guard the conference venue after the embarrassing, ugly scenes that had marred the Northern Cape regional congress, at which dissatisfied members brandished an assortment of weapons, including pangas, machetes and bricks.
Apart from the usual body searches with metal detectors, the strict security measures saw members being escorted to the accreditation and registration room, located about 100m away, by a cluster of guards clad in riot gear and brandishing batons.
Members were only allowed in according to their respective regions. This appeared to leave those who had arrived in groups, frustrated.
Yesterday afternoon, a member of the EFF’s regional command team from Gauteng told The Sunday Independent that Lufuno Gogoro and his army of dozens of unhappy supporters from the province were travelling to Bloemfontein. It was not immediately clear what their intentions were.
Gogoro, who had previously accused Malema of dictatorship and sidelining those critical of him, recently threatened to take legal action to interdict the EFF elective conference.
He had been among the numerous provincial leaders who were ousted from their positions in what the EFF had referred to as “nationwide restructuring”.
Meanwhile, members of the Northern Cape regional command team moved in swiftly to avert the chaotic scenes that marred last month’s regional conference.
They pleaded with the dozens of “fighters” from engaging in disruptive behaviour and to respect the procedures and processes of the elective conference.
“When you sing, don’t mention anyone’s name. We were warned by the central command team not to repeat the mistakes we (made).
“No commissar or fighter is to behave in an unruly or un-EFF manner,” a Northern Cape regional command team member was overhead as saying in his address to members.
Further laying down the ground rules, the leader said: “We and the North West are the only two provinces that have displayed what the ANC thinks of us.
“North West was burning (EFF) T-shirts and we (the Northern Cape delegates) were holding pangas.
“Politically, we are known for disruptions. Don’t repeat that. When they elect Malema or Floyd Shivambu, let’s respect that.
“Let’s respect the elective process and don’t bully others. Democracy is starting tomorrow.”
Barring the tight security and screening measures that left many frustrated, an air of anticipation filled Bloemfontein yesterday ahead of the elective conference.
Most members arrived in their red T-shirts with stickers bearing the popular catchphrase of “(Jacob) Zuma must pay back the money”, in reference to the uproar over the R246 million upgrades spent on the president’s Nkandla homestead.
Malema is expected to be elected unopposed as the commander-in-chief.
- Sunday Independent