By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has sent a stern warning to U.S. President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Malema delivered his keynote address in front of the packed Soweto church on the invite of former Nelson Mandela Foundation CEO, Sello Hatang, who is a member of the church.
Malema who also spoke about crime, GBV and substance abuse currently prevalent in society said he will not be bullied by Trump, and Musk, who labelled Malema an “international criminal” on social media.
Musk’s statement was in reference to a 2018 social media post in which Malema declared, “We will cut the throat of whiteness”. Malema in the post made the statement as he advocated for the removal of Athol Trollip, who was the mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay at the time.
Malema said attacks by Musk will not deter him from his political work and commitment to his principles.
“We want the land and next time they ask me what I want to do with the land, I will say I want to do what my pastor has done with the land. You can be guaranteed South Africans, I will not be bullied by Musk and Trump because, I have never done any crime against anyone, he stated.
Malema also reiterated his call for the withdrawal of the SANDF in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“We are not refusing our soldiers to go to DRC, we are simply saying withdraw them because we are not ready to go anywhere, once we have prepared ourselves enough, we can go to DRC.”
The troops lost their lives at the hands of the M23 as fighting in the Goma region of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) North Kivu province escalated, leading to the capture of Sake and Goma.
The rebel group fought intensely against the Congolese armed forces, resulting in the deaths of soldiers from 23 to 27 January during the M23’s advance.
The soldiers were part of the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC), which aims to help restore peace, security, and stability in Africa’s second-largest country, and the United Nations mission (Monusco), which has a peace enforcement mandate in the DRC.