Julius Malema Sets Conditions for EFF Joining GNU, Says DA and FF Plus Must Leave First

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has indicated his party’s openness to joining the Government of National Unity (GNU), but only if the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Freedom Front Plus first exited the arrangement.

Malema made the remarks over the weekend during a door-to-door campaign in Naledi, Soweto, as parties intensify efforts ahead of the 4 November Local Government Elections.

We are not opposed to participating in the GNU. If Helen Zille walks tomorrow, and that other one of Correctional Services, the Freedom Front, walk, we’ll go inside.

Speaking about the possibility of entering the coalition government, Malema explained what it would take for that to happen. He emphasized that the EFF would not support a GNU that included parties he associated with the killing of liberation struggle figures Chris Hani and Solomon Mahlangu. He stated, “We don’t want a GNU that has got murders in it,” and questioned how the EFF could share government with such parties.

Malema also accused DA Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille of hostility towards the EFF, claiming the party’s independence from white political influence was behind the DA’s refusal to work with it. He further rejected claims that the EFF was unsuitable for coalition government, noting that the ANC had faced its own governance and accountability controversies, calling the ANC “the most chaotic party.”