A young Julius Malema, who was appointed president of the Congress of South African Students in 2001. Picture: Gallo Images/Sowetan/Sefako Mabuya The controversial EFF leader, Julius Malema, started his political career at the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) and proceeded to the ANC Youth League, where he became president of the organisation. In 2011, he was charged by the ANC mother body for making comments that brought the party into disrepute.
When the hearing was about to begin, his followers caused chaos and broke down police barricades and attacked the police and journalists. He was later expelled from the party and other league members followed him. In 2013, they formed the EFF.
In 2014, just a year after forming the party, Malema and fellow members went to parliament after they won 25 seats in the general election. Since forming the EFF, he and his party members have been vocal critics of the government. Malema is widely known for his controversial comments and being outspoken.
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He is known for the regular singing of Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer, a song which many deem hate speech. His volatile behaviour was again witnessed a few years ago when he intimidated journalists and barred them from covering EFF events. He has also been instrumental on the issue of encouraging residents to grab land without compensation. In August last year, he was found guilty of hate speech by the Equality Court for remarks in which he called for the murder of white people.
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