Former uMkhonto weSizwe MK Party Secretary-General Floyd Shivambu claims senior Economic Freedom Fighters EFF leaders were unanimous that Julius Malema could not lead South Africa.
Shivambu deputised Malema in EFF from 2013 when they founded the party until August 2024 when he defected to MK Party.
Floyd Shivambu on EFF and Julius MalemaAddressing the media on Thursday 19 June, Shivambu said he did not regret leaving EFF because it was the best decision I ever took in my political life because we were legitimising rubbish.
We realised that this thing which we said we are standing for is not principle. Check the conduct of EFF in government and what gets to legitimate such, he added, without elaborating further.
Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi , who was also part of the partys senior leadership, was sidelined a few months after Shivambus defection. There were claims that he knew about Shivambus impending departure but did not inform other leaders.
However, Shivambu claimed that most senior leaders in the EFF knew that he was leaving, not just Ndlozi.
Those comrades knew, and we had discussed it. And we reached the same conclusion that we are not being fair to society if we say that this comrade Malema can lead this country. All of us agreed, including the people who are leading EFF now. All of us were unanimous, he claimed.
This signals a further deterioration of political ties between Shivambu and Malema, who had worked together since their time in the African National Congress Youth League ANCYL.
The former EFF Deputy President also declared that he would not rejoin the party, describing it as a cult.
Theres no space for sound ideological reasoning, and there is no self-respecting person who can join both the ANC and EFF, he added.