Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) president Julius Malema has expressed his gratitude to the members of the red berets for their unwavering support in 2024, despite a drop in electoral support and losing key members to the MK Party.
However it was his grammatical errors that got tongues wagging on social media users.
Malema took to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Monday and penned a heartfelt message thanking the EFF’s ground forces and commissars for their dedication.
In a message spanning three paragraphs, Malema who was recently re-elected unopposed as the party’s president for a third term at the party’s elective conference expressed his appreciation.
“Thank you very much to the people of South Africa and all the @EFFSouthAfrica ground forces and commissars for keeping us going under the circumstances,” he wrote.
Malema acknowledged the challenges that the party faced during the entire year, notably its poor performance in the May 29 general elections, and being outshined by former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.
Although he did not mention the challenges, the defection of prominent members, including his longtime friend and ally Floyd Shivambu, who left the EFF and joined MK party is one of them.
Despite the obstacles, Malema stressed that the members of the party did not give in to the critics.
Thank you very much to the people of South Africa and all the @EFFSouthAfrica ground forces and commissars for keeping us going under the circumstances. It was a challenging year, but you carried us and refused to submit to the pressures of the doomsayers.
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) December 23, 2024
We closed on a high…
“It was a challenging year, but you carried us and refused to submit to the pressures of the doomsayers,” Malema said, referring to those who urged him to close shop and join the MK party.
Former Public Protector Adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane, Dali Mpofu, Mzwanele Manyi and others also joined the spears of MK party.
The party has been ‘bleeding’ from the wave of resignations, with Malema saying that Zuma wants to destroy his party by taking away his members.
However, he went on to extend his festive season wishes to the party’s members and supporters, urging them to enjoy responsibly.
“We closed on a high note and defeated our detractors. We wish you a joyful festive season and a Merry Christmas,” he wrote.
Malema called on the members of the red overalls to celebrate responsibly.
“Let's enjoy reasonably with our families and friends and refuse the termination to drink and drive. We won and are more determined to defend, rebuild and advance the struggle for economic freedom.✊🏿🎉,” Malema said.
While his post garnered to 5,000 reactions, with over 1,000 reposts and more than 6,00 comments, social media users did not hesitate to flood the comment section to mock his grammar.
X user @ALooterContinua, joked: “You won??? What? A participation prize? 🤣🤣 But in any case, I’m more impressed at the way you managed to build a private school so exclusive that nobody can find it. 👌Juju, you are truly the David Copperfield of Mzanzi.”
Another user questioned the meaning of Malema’s statement.
“What's that mean ? Let's enjoy reasonably with our families and friends and refuse the termination to drink and drive,” asked @NadiaFerreira85.
@Thithika2 added paraffin to the fire: “Floyd is not around to correct spelling mistakes, I wish you merry Christmas and prosperous new year!
Despite the mockery comments, many EFF members and supporters defended Malema and the party.
@ZizinjaAbelungu wrote, “Thank you President. We will continue to defend this movement. The EFF is our Home. Also thanks to you for not selling out the Revolution. Your name shall be written and Carved in history Books and shall never be forgotten. We Love you Moshabi ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤.”
Another supporter @sewelankoana added: “Thank you Mr President🙏we defied the odds and will come back stronger. phambili nge revolution✊enjoy the festive with ur family🙏.”
IOL Politics