Although the ANC currently holds a Black majority congress, the party’s diversity has not led to a parallel rise in economic equality for Black South Africans. In the fight for Black liberation, the most significant notion Julius Malema has recognized is that political power does not translate into economic power. The EFF seeks to address these concerns and take back the majority stronghold on these lands. For many Black South Africans, it is unconscionable that the white minority owns 72 percent of the agricultural land, while the Black majority owns a mere 4 percent. Under apartheid, eighty-five percent of South African land was reserved for white people, who then accounted for an estimated seventeen percent of the population. Meanwhile, Black Africans account for 80 percent of South Africa’s population, these homelands comprise just 13 percent of the land. The 1913 Native Lands Act made it illegal for Black Africans to acquire land outside of these reserves, which became known as “Homelands”. South Africa has a history of colonial conquest that relegated the Black majority into crowded urban and rural reserves. The Roots of Land Expropriation in South Africa Founded in 2013, the organization has spent the last 6 years bringing together a community of activists, organizers, politicians, leaders and revolutionaries to propel its central cause: land expropriation without compensation (LEWC) The EFF, in many ways, is a radical militant movement that focuses on the economic emancipation of Black African people. the decolonization of South African lands. Following his dismissal from the ANC, Malema repositioned himself in the political limelight to establish a new, ambitious agenda through the EFF He was criticized of misconduct, and bringing the party into disreputeĪs a consequence of those hearings, Malema was expelled from the ANC as its Youth League President in 2012. In 2011, he was subject to a disciplinary hearing after being found guilty of sowing divisions within the party. Julius Malema, however, has not had a harmonious track-record with the ANC. Socioeconomic issues stemming from colonial and apartheid South Africa serve as the fundamental focus of the ANC. At its roots, the ANC is a national liberation movement that defines its mission as the National Democratic Revolution.

The ANC has been the main governing political party of post-apartheid South Africa, winning every election since the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela. At the age of nine, he joined the ANC as part of its youth pioneer movement, where he was trained in armed resistance. His childhood in many ways propelled his interest in the political arena.

He grew up in impoverished circumstances and at a young age was able to witness and understand the disparities concerning socioeconomic statuses in his region. At the age of 38, he has spearheaded the second largest opposition party to the African National Congress (ANC) and spent the last six years crafting a disciplined radical agenda for South Africa.īorn in 1981, Malema was raised by his single mother, Flora, in the township of Seshego. Julius Malema, the powerhouse leader and founder of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), is currently one of the most significant political firebrands in South Africa.

Julius malema