Over 400 EFF councillors, MPs banned from 10th anniversary celebrations in Joburg

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has shown over 400 public representatives — mainly councillors — the red card after they failed to provide transport for their constituents for the party's 10th anniversary celebrations.

The party said the 428 councillors, members of Parliament and members of the provincial legislatures, would be banned from attending the EFF’s 10th anniversary celebrations at the FNB Stadium in Nasrec, Johannesburg, this weekend.

The red berets have also promised to crack the whip on the over 400 public representatives implicated.

The decision to name and shame and ultimately uninvited the over 400 public representatives, is likely to fuel sentiment which says EFF leader Julius Malema runs the organisation like a dictatorship.

The EFF was also recently criticised for inviting controversial Kenyan academic Professor Patrick Lumumba, who spoke at a party lecture celebrating 10 years of the EFF at the University of Cape Town earlier this week.

The event went ahead despite simmering tensions between EFF supporters and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, who denounced both the EFF and UCT, for allowing Lumumba to speak after he publicly supported a bill to sentence and potentially punish by death, homosexuality in Uganda.

The EFF has publicly condemned the bill.

The most senior EFF public representative who failed to provide transport to their constituents, was former EFF KZN chairperson Vusi Khoza, who is an MP.

Khoza helped oversea massive EFF growth in the KZN province when the red berets “fighters” quadrupled its support in KZN from under 70,000 votes in the 2014 general elections, to over 300,000 at the last general elections in 2019.

Another high ranking EFF MP who appeared on the list was Phiwaba Madokwe, who holds the party internal rank of ‘commissar’ and who was a former secretary general of the EFF Student’s Command.

Two other MPs from the National Council of Provinces, Slindile Luthuli and Brenda Mathevula, seven MPLs from the various provinces and a total of 417 councillors from five provinces, failed to provide transport for the red beret supporters after the party had given councillors six months to prepare.

“All of those whose names appear… are banned from attending the 10th Anniversary Rally of the EFF, and further consequences will be explored against them and all those who may have procured a certain amount of transportation, but did not meet the requisite target.

“These will be explored by the EFF leadership in due course,” said the EFF in a statement on Wednesday night.

It said public representatives were given a directive on January 31, 2023, after the party held it's first Central Command Team (CCT) meeting for the year.

The EFF said the directive was given to “ensure that public representatives bring those that they claim to represent, to the celebrations of the EFF” in a bid to ensure that South Africans from all walks of life were part of “this historic occasion”.

“We commend and salute all public representatives who have adhered to this organisational directive without fail.

“We call on all public representatives to ensure that the transportation methods used to bring their constituencies to FNB Stadium are safe, in a good condition and utilised by responsible and experienced drivers,” said the EFF in a statement.

Some have criticised the party saying their reaction was uncalled for, while others believe the EFF was holding it's public representatives accountable.

Now imagine what Kiddie Amin would do with state power. https://t.co/6V4cV6hHO1
— Palesa Morudu Rosenberg (@palesa_morudu) July 26, 2023

"The ANC" will not reach this level of holding themselves accountable.

"The Eff" will do what it said it will do. https://t.co/8sRb21tqWb
— MMC of Fights (@AmReatlegile) July 26, 2023

You want to be called "Commissar or Leadership" yet you can't even organize transport for your constituency. Shame on you! https://t.co/llno0rSMlx
— Xabiso Mtwana (@MtwanaXabiso) July 26, 2023

“Accountability feels like an attack when you're not ready to acknowledge how your behavior harms others.”Tamara Renaye,#EFFTurns10 #HappyBirthdayEFF https://t.co/BqY1XyBa6o
— NOT_YET_UHURU (@Robert04252669) July 26, 2023

This 👇🏾 is completely over the top. I wanted to say happy 10th anniversary but this kinda stuff boils me. Those salaries of public reps aren't entirely your property as the party. You already make them buy bakkies (high repayments), they pay party levies that are higher than most https://t.co/8axqMVuJMn
— Lukhona Mnguni (@LukhonaMnguni) July 26, 2023

Why would one accept leadership position when he know that he do not have leadership skills! https://t.co/OqtfnQXTiz
— KMokgaga (@KMokgaga) July 26, 2023