AS THE the smouldering Durban heat settled over the city yesterday, scores of EFF supporters were seen leaving the party’s “Siyabonga – Thank You” rally at People’s Park, adjacent to the Moses Mabhida Stadium, IN Durban, and headed towards the beachfront.
Despite the exodus of some supporters from People’s Park, the venue looked like it had been swallowed by a sea of red as EFF supporters stretched for as far as the eye could see.
They were in high spirits, all singing along to provincial chairperson Vusi Khoza’s hit song Wema sosha Juju, ayikhale.
Busloads of supporters from Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and other parts of KwaZulu-Natal made their way to Durban for the event.
As performing acts entertained the crowd while they awaited the arrival of leader Julius Malema, Covid-19 health and safety regulations were evidently of little concern as supporters stood shoulder to shoulder with very few masks in sight.
Before the party president could speak, EFF member Mbuyiseni Ndlozi sang a remixed version of the South African national anthem, which did not feature the Afrikaans and English verses.
Malema arrived on stage dancing and made some bold remarks, to say the least, about the future of the EFF in KwaZulu-Natal. He said he was coming to expropriate uMhlanga, north of Durban, and take everything for free because the people who lived there had bought the land from thieves.
Among other plans for 2022, Malema said he wanted to register one million official EFF supporters by the end of December this year, all of whom, he said, should join of their own accord for the right reasons and not because they wanted to vote for a popular individual.
Malema also disclosed that the party would be hiring a “provincial government expert” who would monitor the weekly progress of all EFF councillors to ensure accountability within its structures.
“We are building a solid machine, not a mickey mouse,” Malema said, adding that President Cyril Ramaphosa would never see a second term.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE