Pretoria - Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema on Thursday denounced Police Minister Fikile Mbalula and the South African Police Service (SAPS) for treating thousands of protestors who blocked roads this past Monday, protesting against farm murders, with kids gloves.
Addressing a crowd of supporters gathered at the Israeli Embassy in Pretoria, Malema said the ruling party, the African National Congress, was "scared of white people".
"The useless minister of police did not do anything, even when whites were disrupting us. You know why? The ANC is scared of white people. The ANC is scared of Israel, the ANC is scared of Afrikaners. But the regime of the EFF will never be scared of a white person. These police here are trained to respect a white man. When they see a white men, it's baas [boss]. A black man, they ill-treat even when black people are not doing anything but fighting for their rights," said Malema.
"That is how they are taught. Their colleges respects [instructs] them to respect whiteness. You are cowards in uniform. It doesn't matter, whether a wrong thing is done by a white person or a black person, all of us must respect the law."
The protest at the Israeli Embassy was organised by the EFF to show their solidarity with the people of Palestine.
“You must stop being narrow-minded. You must stop suffering from a frog view, you must have the giraffe view. You must see Palestine even when you are here. You must feel the pain of the Palestinians even when you are here. Children are being killed, children are being stabbed. Women are being bombed in Palestine. Soldiers have occupied that place, even if you are not a Palestinian or a Jew wanting to visit Palestine, you are subjected to huge harassment by Israel,” said Malema.
Numerous Tshwane Metro Police and the SAPS officers were monitoring the protestors.
Malema lambasted the police for "failing to intervene" decisively when crowds of people, including AfriForum members blocked busy freeways in different parts of South Africa.
He also spoke out about some protestors who on Monday reportedly brought the old South African flag.
"Why were they singing Die Stem [the apartheid era anthem], why bring the apartheid flag?"
Hundreds of EFF supporters were brought to the Israeli embassy in convoys of buses.