I feel the pain I felt when my mother passed away, Malema says of Shivambu’s exit
Floyd Shivambu confirms he will join Jacob Zuma’s MK party, but Malema says the doors of ‘Winnie Madikizela-Mandela house’ will always remain open to him
15 August 2024 - 14:50
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EFF officials at a meeting where former deputy president Floyd Shivambu officially announced his resignation. Pictrure: SISANDA MBOLEKWA
Despite indications that the EFF’s two top leaders have fallen out, Julius Malema said there is no bad blood resulting from Floyd Shivambu’s departure to the uMkhonto we Sizwe party.
He described his former deputy’s leaving as a sore loss likening it to the death of his mother.
“He has voluntarily resigned from his position and has decided not to renew his party membership. When he sent me the letter yesterday [Wednesday] I felt the same pain when I felt on the news of my mother’s passing,” Malema said. Floyd is not just a comrade, he is a brother and will remain a brother even when he pursues his political career differently.”
Malema said he received the news while in Polokwane, after which he travelled to Shivambu’s lodging for a private meeting on Wednesday night to try to convince him to remain in the party. However, Shivambu was adamant about moving to a different political home.
“We formed this organisation together and I told him that resigning from the EFF is equal to resigning from himself, because this is his organisation.”
Despite Shivambu confirming he will be joining former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party, Malema said “the doors of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela house” will always remain open to him.
“The constitution of the EFF does not allow an individual to resign and go to other political parties and come back to the party. But I have made this offer to Floyd, that the day he decides to come back, he is more than welcome. He is not an ordinary member, he is a founder,” he said.
“I told him, you are not our enemy and we will never be his enemy. We will continue to engage on different political and personal issues.”
Malema said he was aware a potential mass exodus from the EFF to MK.
“Jimmy Manyi has also resigned to go join the MK party and there will be many others who are going to leave the EFF because they have got their loyalty and support with the deputy president [Shivambu].
“Fighters on the ground should be prepared for more exits and this should not serve as a point of collapse for the EFF. This is a testing moment for an organisation that has lived beyond 10 years. We have never been through this, the EFF will have to pass this test or it will have to die.”
Malema said EFF members and leaders will defend and safeguard the party for generations to come.
“It is the responsibility of provincial leaders, regional leaders and the branch leaders to consolidate the ground and strengthen the structures of the EFF. This is not the end; it is the beginning of a journey. We have turned 10 years and this is a new chapter for the EFF.”
He said there would not be friction between the EFF and MK, despite the latter poaching his most powerful ally.
“You can rest assured that we are not going to be howling insults at each other. We are not going to be speaking bad about each other. Individuals make individual political decisions and they will stand by those decisions,” Malema said.
“We all write our own individual history and the deputy president has decided to write his. Individuals can leave the organisation but the organisation must still stand because it must live beyond individuals. It cannot rely on the individuals, including me.
“If it happens one day that I die, the EFF will have to live beyond me. It has its own founding manifesto, its election manifesto, it is well represented in parliament and must execute its responsibilities.
“We wish DP [deputy president Shivambu] all of the success, we know that where he is going, he will be of value. We have lost a valuable member of the EFF, but the show continues.”
Shortly after Shivambu’s announcement, MK released a statement confirming Shivambu and Manyi had joined the party.
Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said the two former EFF leaders would be deployed according to their strengths and expertise.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
I feel the pain I felt when my mother passed away, Malema says of Shivambu’s exit
Floyd Shivambu confirms he will join Jacob Zuma’s MK party, but Malema says the doors of ‘Winnie Madikizela-Mandela house’ will always remain open to him
Despite indications that the EFF’s two top leaders have fallen out, Julius Malema said there is no bad blood resulting from Floyd Shivambu’s departure to the uMkhonto we Sizwe party.
He described his former deputy’s leaving as a sore loss likening it to the death of his mother.
“He has voluntarily resigned from his position and has decided not to renew his party membership. When he sent me the letter yesterday [Wednesday] I felt the same pain when I felt on the news of my mother’s passing,” Malema said. Floyd is not just a comrade, he is a brother and will remain a brother even when he pursues his political career differently.”
Malema said he received the news while in Polokwane, after which he travelled to Shivambu’s lodging for a private meeting on Wednesday night to try to convince him to remain in the party. However, Shivambu was adamant about moving to a different political home.
“We formed this organisation together and I told him that resigning from the EFF is equal to resigning from himself, because this is his organisation.”
Despite Shivambu confirming he will be joining former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party, Malema said “the doors of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela house” will always remain open to him.
“The constitution of the EFF does not allow an individual to resign and go to other political parties and come back to the party. But I have made this offer to Floyd, that the day he decides to come back, he is more than welcome. He is not an ordinary member, he is a founder,” he said.
“I told him, you are not our enemy and we will never be his enemy. We will continue to engage on different political and personal issues.”
Malema said he was aware a potential mass exodus from the EFF to MK.
“Jimmy Manyi has also resigned to go join the MK party and there will be many others who are going to leave the EFF because they have got their loyalty and support with the deputy president [Shivambu].
“Fighters on the ground should be prepared for more exits and this should not serve as a point of collapse for the EFF. This is a testing moment for an organisation that has lived beyond 10 years. We have never been through this, the EFF will have to pass this test or it will have to die.”
Malema said EFF members and leaders will defend and safeguard the party for generations to come.
“It is the responsibility of provincial leaders, regional leaders and the branch leaders to consolidate the ground and strengthen the structures of the EFF. This is not the end; it is the beginning of a journey. We have turned 10 years and this is a new chapter for the EFF.”
He said there would not be friction between the EFF and MK, despite the latter poaching his most powerful ally.
“You can rest assured that we are not going to be howling insults at each other. We are not going to be speaking bad about each other. Individuals make individual political decisions and they will stand by those decisions,” Malema said.
“We all write our own individual history and the deputy president has decided to write his. Individuals can leave the organisation but the organisation must still stand because it must live beyond individuals. It cannot rely on the individuals, including me.
“If it happens one day that I die, the EFF will have to live beyond me. It has its own founding manifesto, its election manifesto, it is well represented in parliament and must execute its responsibilities.
“We wish DP [deputy president Shivambu] all of the success, we know that where he is going, he will be of value. We have lost a valuable member of the EFF, but the show continues.”
Shortly after Shivambu’s announcement, MK released a statement confirming Shivambu and Manyi had joined the party.
Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said the two former EFF leaders would be deployed according to their strengths and expertise.
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