Julius Malema, the leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) group has rallied support from his countrymen including his party following his recent squabble with X owner, Elon Musk.
Over the weekend, Malema and Elon Musk clashed on X (formerly Twitter) after Musk reacted to an old video of Malema making a statement on “cutting the throat of whiteness.”
Musk noted that Malema’s statement represented an open call for genocide against white people. Musk, in an additional post asked the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa why he will allow Malema to call for genocide.
Consequently, Musk called for immediate sanctions against Malema and also for him to be declared as an international criminal.
However, Malema dismissed Musk’s calls describing him as a “typical racist,” noting that he doesn’t care about the sanctions. He alleged that Musk is a spoiled brat and direct beneficiary of apartheid whiteness.
Malema furthered that;
America is exposing us to its stupidity. I don’t care about your sanctions; I will never stop fighting for black people to be equal to white people, and if that makes me an international criminal, I am proud to be one.
Amid the squabble, Malema has attracted massive support from his countrymen, including his political party. On Feb. 9, the EFF issued a statement describing Musk as a “global billionaire maniac” who thinks of himself as a Supreme ruler. The party also declared Musk as an enemy of South Africa, asking other countries to declare him the same.
The fallout between Malema and Musk may be attributed to recent diplomatic issues between South Africa and the U.S. The US President Donald Trump recently threatened sanctions against South Africa over alleged confiscation of land belonging to certain classes of people in the country.
The actions however resulted in strict responses from South Africa with the country warning that it wouldn’t be bullied by the US.