Johannesburg - Briefing the media in Joburg on Thursday afternoon, EFF leader Julius Malema said the shutdown at the country’s universities which was as a result of the #FeesMustFall protests “must continue until free education is realised”.
“The reality is the state has collapsed. We are on autopilot. The students are on the right path. We have not seen anything wrong done by the students.” Malema said their lawyers had been working with day in and out, “bailing the (arrested) students and telling them to go back to the picket lines were they belong”.
He called on the students not to be discouraged by the police pepper spray and rubber bullets, saying these were the exact same tactics the apartheid regime had used in quashing dissent.
Malema said Abrahams was not fit for office, saying the charges against Gordhan were a mere human resource matter. “Now a judge must be the head of HR and resolve a HR matter.”
He said if Gordhan was fired for rehiring form Sars deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay after the latter had taken an early retirement, “then the Cabinet (ministers) must all resign in solidarity with Gordhan because they claim to be moralists. And those who are approached to become ministers must refuse to serve in a Cabinet controlled by the Guptas”.
Malema said when they were still in the ANC, Zuma once told them that “you can be charged with anything, the onus is on you to prove yourself”. The charges against Gordhan were part of Zuma’s fight back strategy as he was involved in racketeering and money laundering, said Malema.
He identified himself as one of the people who had presented evidence of state capture to outgoing Public Protector Thuli Madonsela. Madonsela is expected to release a preliminary report on state capture on Friday.
The Economic Freedom Fighters is set to embark on a massive protest in Tshwane on November 2, the same day embattled Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is expected to appear at the Pretoria Regional Court on fraud charges.
Julius Malema, commander-in-chief of the EFF, called on the workers, students, the unemployed, shopkeepers, and security guards to be part of the “militant action” aimed at defending the country’s democratic gains.
Their demands included calls for President Jacob Zuma to step down from power; implementation of free education in 2017; the controversial Gupta family to immediately leave South Africa; and for Shaun Abrahams to step down as the National Prosecuting Authority boss.
@luyolomkentane
Political Bureau