Julius Malema: South Africa’s performative revolutionary is facing his biggest battle

Julius Malema, the leader of South Africa’s fourth-largest party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), is a divisive figure: loved by some, hated by others.

Malema hails from Seshego, a small village in Limpopo, which is one of South Africa’s poorer provinces. But Malema broke that mould. Few South African politicians have achieved what he has.

In 2013, Malema, together with Floyd Shivambu, announced the founding of the Economic Freedom Fighters as the main host for radical youth politics in South Africa.

Malema is a career politician who has used the political liberties bequeathed to democratic South Africa to his personal and political advantage.

As a political analyst and senior lecturer, I have studied the rise of Malema and his party as part of South Africa’s ongoing leftist, worker-driven political wing.

But, as my research shows, his purpose appears less about waging a true revolutionary war and more about drawing political value from the perception that he could.

This creates a stark contradiction. Malema performs the role of a fearless revolutionary within a stable democracy that offers him all the securities and legal protections he needs to sustain this performance. Unlike those who rise against authoritarian regimes, he faces no mortal risks.

South Africa is scheduled to go to the polls in November 2026.