South African politician and leader of that country’s Economic Freedom Fighters party, Julius Malema, delivers a forceful critique of xenophobic and Afrophobic violence in South Africa, challenging the narrative that blames fellow Africans for the country’s economic hardships.
He argues that such divisions are not accidental but are rooted in a historical pattern of manipulation, where black communities are turned against each other to distract from deeper structural inequalities and the legacy of colonial dispossession. Drawing parallels with apartheid-era tactics, Malema calls for critical thinking and unity, urging South Africans to confront the real sources of their struggles rather than targeting other Africans.
In His Own Words.
“After beating up fellow Africans, and you don’t realise that the same people who made you fight each other during apartheid are the same ones who are doing the same.
The provinces that are fighting black-on-black violence are the same that did during apartheid. The tribe that is fighting black-on-black violence is the one that did during apartheid.
At the center of black-on-black hatred is a state-sponsored and capital-sponsored hatred to distract you from giving you economic opportunities, to make you blame wrong people for your misfortune.
There is no Zimbabwe that took your land from you. There is no Zimbabwe that took your tender from you. There is no Zimbabwe that took your job from you. There are no jobs.
The jobs Zimbabweans are doing, you don’t want to do them. You are so educated enough to do those slave jobs. Not that you are lazy, you are not lazy, you know your worth, and you are refusing to do those jobs.
That is what I am hated for. The people who stole your land are white conquerors, are white colonialists. It is written in books, no Zimbabwean conquered you, no Nigerian conquered you.
Why are you turning your back on what is a true reflection of who we are to want to entertain sponsored contemporary politics that seeks to distract you from why you are unemployed?
They are moving you away. Apartheid did the same. It made the ANC fight with the IFP so that they are distracted from fighting for the liberation of South Africa. The script is the same. The writers of the script are the same people. Why are you not learning from your history that you are being made stupid, we are being taken advantage of?
They are repeating what they did in the past when they went into copper and made us to fight one another in the hostels and kill each other. Same people are doing it today. You are refusing to think. You are refusing to be critical. You are thinking about the next election. If I say this, I won’t get elected.”
There are two Kanda Bongoman songs that I can play on repeat while I am doing creative work on my computer. There is Yesu Kristu and There is Muchana. Beautiful songs there and my creative juices continue to flow. Thank you Kanda Bongoman