The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a
South African communist and
black nationalist political party. It was founded by expelled former
African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president
Julius Malema, and his allies, on 26 July 2013.
Malema is president of the EFF, heading the Central Command Team, which serves as the central structure of the party.
It is currently the fourth-largest party in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
.
History
Foundation and early history
At a 26 July 2013 press briefing in
Soweto, Malema announced that the new party had over 1000 members, double the 500 required for registration with the
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
The EFF is now registered with the IEC, after an objection to its registration by the
Freedom Front Plus (FF+) was dismissed in September 2013.
In 2015, the EFF suspended
MP Lucky Twala and expelled three MPs, Mpho Ramakatsa,
Andile Mngxitama and
Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala.
Mngxitama formed his own party, named
Black First Land First (BLF), while Litchfield-Tshabalala joined the
United Democratic Movement. Malema has been chiefly accused by former members of purging his critics to consolidate his power, thus ruling the party with an iron fist. Malema acknowledged this criticism in a press conference and went on to say that the party should have expelled more ill-disciplined members.
Recent actions and activities
On 6 August 2015, the EFF announced that it has secured a
Constitutional Court case for its "#PayBackTheMoney" campaign against
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...
. The case was heard on 9 February 2016. The judgement was released by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and stated that the then-President had violated the Constitution of South Africa, along with the
Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete. The President was given 60 days to fulfill the requirements of the Public Protector
Thuli Madonsela.
On 27 February 2018, the EFF tabled a motion in the National Assembly to amend the Constitution so as to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation. The motion, brought by the EFF leader
Julius Malema, was adopted with a vote of 241 in support, and 83 against. The only parties who did not support the motion were the
Democratic Alliance,
Freedom Front Plus,
Congress of the People and the
ACDP. Land expropriation is one of the EFF's seven cardinal pillars.
In 2018, the party's student wing, the EFF Student Command came in first at several Student Representative Council elections, defeating the
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...
(ANC)-aligned
South African Students Congress (SASCO) at the
Durban University of Technology, the
University of Zululand and
Mangosuthu University of Technology. They also won in Cape Town, the District Six, Mowbray and Bellville
Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) campuses with landslide victories. They also won the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa.
Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
.
Peter Keetse, president of the EFFSC, said the win was a warning shot for what was going to happen in 2019 national general elections. He said the youth were the influencers of the future: "this is an indication of what is to follow".
In March 2023 the party attempted to organise
a national shutdown in protest of
loadshedding and calling for South African President
Cyril Ramaphosa to step down. The shutdown was widely reported as ineffective
and involved a number of instances of
fake news spread by party supporters.
In June 2024, the EFF refused to join the ANC-led Government of National Unity (GNU), because of the
Democratic Alliance (DA) and
Freedom Front Plus (FF+) participation in the coalition.
In August 2024, EFF deputy president
Floyd Shivambu left the party and joined former president
Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.
Ideology and policies
Marxist ideology

The EFF "draws inspiration from the broad
Marxist–Leninist tradition and
Fanonian schools of thought in their analyses of the state, imperialism, culture and class contradictions in every society", according to its constitution.
The EFF states that it takes inspiration from Burkinabé President
Thomas Sankara in terms of both style and Marxist ideology.
Prominent EFF member Jackie Shandu declared the party a "proudly
Sankarist formation".
Death penalty
At the launch of the EFF in 2013, party leader Julius Malema called for a referendum on re-introducing the death penalty, but by 2019 he had reversed this position.
Economics
The party has promised to tackle corruption, provide quality social housing, and provide free primary healthcare and education for all, as well as proposing to
expropriate White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
-owned farmland, nationalise the mining and banking sectors, double welfare grants and the minimum wage, and end the proposed
toll system for highways.
It has criticised both the dominant
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...
and the primary opposition party, the
Democratic Alliance, for enacting policies that it claims have sold out the black people of South Africa to capitalism as cheap labour. However, after the
2016 local elections in South Africa, Malema suggested that the EFF would back the Democratic Alliance in hung-metro areas, while reiterating that it would not form a coalition with any political party.
The EFF has vocally criticised black business owners, particularly in South Africa's mining sector. In an address at the
Oxford Union in November 2015, Malema spoke out against billionaire mining company owner
Patrice Motsepe. During further protests in 2015, the EFF delivered demands that included the socialisation of the mining sector and called for more explicit targets for the 26% BEE ownership required by law. The EFF is a vocal proponent of expanding the role of
South African state-owned enterprises in the national economy. In a public address at Marikana in the Rustenburg area, near the site of the
Marikana massacre, Malema blamed mining companies for poverty in the region and called out platinum mining company
Lonmin in particular.
The EFF was the only parliamentary party that opposed the 2018 political party funding bill, a funding transparency law that requires political parties to publish their sources of funding.
Foreign policy
Within Africa
The EFF presents itself as a
Pan-Africanist party and supports the proposal for a
United States of Africa. In respect to this, the EFF and Malema have repeatedly praised former
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
n leader
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...
, promising to implement many of the policies in South Africa that Gaddafi implemented in Libya. The party is against presence of the
American military bases in Africa, most notably in
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
.
The EFF has been strongly critical of the government of
Eswatini
Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...
, one of the last
absolute monarchies in the world, advocating for democratic reforms in the country and the removal of borders between it and South Africa. The party has supported a number of efforts to support change in Eswatini ranging from trying to shutdown the
Eswatini-South Africa border with protest action to criticizing the electoral process in the country.
The EFF is critical of
France's presence in Africa; in 2022 the party picketed outside of and ultimately barricaded the country's embassy in Pretoria. The French ambassador to South Africa criticised the EFF for
scapegoating France as the supposed source of all Africa's problems. Following
the death of Queen Elizabeth the EFF announced that they would not mourn her passing instead stating that "she never once acknowledged the atrocities her family inflicted on native people that Britain invaded across the world."
Outside Africa
The EFF is against
Zionism
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
,
is strongly critical of
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and its
conflict with the Palestinians; referring to the country as "evil" and advocating for its
destruction.
During the
Gaza war the leader of the EFF
Julius Malema stated the party's support for
Hamas
The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
and that should the party win the
2024 election they would send arms to assist the organisation.
The EFF officially supports
Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, commending what they refer to as Russia's "anti-imperialist programme" against
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
.
During the
Lady R incident the party stated their support for any prospect of South African exports of military equipment to Russia that might assist in its invasion of Ukraine.
The party supports closer bilateral relations between South Africa and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
whilst considering
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
to be an "integral part" of the People's Republic of China; it has referred to the
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
as the "torch-bearer for all Marxist–Leninist formations in the world".
LGBT+ rights
The EFF supports the rights of the
LGBT+ community in Africa and officially condemns laws that seek to ban homosexuality. The party was critical of
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
's 2023
Anti-Homosexuality Bill and led a protest outside of the Ugandan embassy in South Africa urging Uganda's president not to sign it into law. Later in 2023, the party was strongly criticized by members of the South African LGBT+ community for inviting
Patrick Lumumba, a Kenyan professor known for making homophobic statements and who is publicly supportive of Uganda's 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Bill, to deliver the party's 10th anniversary lecture at the University of Cape Town.
Support base and prominent members
According to a November 2013
Ipsos survey, the party's supporters are younger than average, with 49% being younger than 24, overwhelmingly black (99%) and mostly male, with women representing only 33% of the support base. A disproportionate number of supporters live in Malema's home province of
Limpopo
Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...
(28%), while only 1% live in
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
, a more populous province.
A 2018 survey conducted by social research company Citizen Surveys found that around 70% of EFF supporters were between the ages of 18 and 34, overwhelmingly black (97%), mostly based in major metropolitan cities (48%), predominantly male (62%) with 43% of their support base located in
Gauteng Province. The party was expected to make an impact in the
2014 general election, taking between 4 per cent and 8 per cent of the national vote. This was potentially enough for the party to hold
the balance of power in provinces where the governing African National Congress was in danger of losing its absolute majority.
The ANC retained its absolute majority whilst the EFF got 6.35% of the vote in the 2014 election.
High-profile members of the Central Command Team include
Fana Mokoena and former member
Mbuyiseni Ndlozi (National Spokesperson) who resigned in February 2025.
Controversial businessman
Kenny Kunene joined the Central Command Team in July 2013 before resigning from the Central Command Team on 20 August 2013 and from the organisation on 26 August 2013.
On 4 November 2013, it was announced that
Dali Mpofu had left the
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...
(ANC) after 33 years of membership and joined the EFF. In December 2023, former ANC member and
Areta leader
Carl Niehaus joined the EFF. On 19 August 2024 EFF leader Julius Malema announced to the party supporters in Soweto that
Sinawo Tambo will be replacing former deputy and member of parliament Floyd Shivambu in parliament.
Student wing
The Economic Freedom Fighters Students Command (EFFSC) was the party's student wing, founded on 16 June 2015. It campaigns for
free education,
universal access to education
Universal access to education is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, race (human categorization), race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, ethnic background or physical and mental disab ...
and the elimination of registration fees, It was officially disbanded in February 2025 and replaced with a newly formed youth command following a resolution passed at the party's elective conference in December 2024.
2024 defections
Following electoral losses in the
2024 general election the party experienced a number of high profile defections to the newly formed
uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK) which weakened the party further.
The party's former Limpopo chairperson, Jossey Buthane, defected to the ANC three weeks before the election whilst claiming that further defections would happen in the future. Three months after the election, in August, party co-founder and deputy leader, Floyd Shivambu, defected to MK
as did
Mzwanele Manyi. This was followed by
Busisiwe Mkhwebane in October, and the party's former chairperson, Dali Mpofu, in November 2024.
Criticisms and controversies
Allegations of foreign ties
The ANC has accused the Zimbabwean ruling party, the
Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), of supporting the EFF in order to destabilise the ANC.
In 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa stated during a debate in Parliament that he had received numerous intelligence reports that the EFF "is an
MI6 project" (a project of the foreign arm of British intelligence agencies). The party's chairperson, Dali Mpofu, said he would shut down the EFF if the claims turned out to be true but he was removed as chairman in the same year.
Alleged corruption
Tenders
A number of articles published by investigative journalists have accused the party of using their influence to earn improper payments from government suppliers in cities where the EFF has significant representative power.
An investigation by the
amaBhungane centre for investigative journalism stated that the EFF received R500,000 in kickbacks from a company in return for a R1.26 billion contract to manage a fleet of vehicles used by the
City of Johannesburg
The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality () is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite se ...
with tacit acquiescence of the Democratic Alliance. Another investigation alleges that the party improperly benefited from the awarding of a fuel supply contract for the
City of Tshwane netting the party R15 million from successful contractors.
VBS Mutual Bank
Following the publication of a
South African Reserve Bank report into the collapse of
VBS Mutual Bank implicating former EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu's brother media reports came out alleging that Shivambu, who joined
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...
's
UMkhonto weSizwe (political party) in August 2024, received R10 million in illicit payments from VBS prior to it being placed under
curatorship in March 2018.
Prior to the publication of the Reserve Bank's report the EFF criticised the Reserve Bank for placing VBS under curatorship and accused it of victimising VBS on racial grounds. The EFF stated that it had seen no evidence that Shivambu received the R10 million and called for government to recapitalise VBS Mutual Bank whilst also taking legal action against those mentioned in the Reserve Bank report. A follow-up investigation by the ''
Daily Maverick'' alleged that the EFF illicitly received R1.8 million of VBS money through a network of proxy companies with the party's leadership (notably Shivambu and Malema) also illicitly receiving money though this network. After being approached by the ''
Mail & Guardian'' for comment on his personal financial expenses Floyd Shivambu admitted that money from VBS, channeled through his brother, was used to buy his
Range Rover Sport valued at R680,000. By June 2021 Shivambu's brother had repaid R4.55 million and admitted to taking VBS money.
A follow-up investigation by the ''Daily Maverick'' found that R454,000 of VBS money was used to pay for the 2017 EFF birthday celebration.
It also found that a total of R16.1 million was channeled through a Shivambu associated company largely for the benefit of the EFF.
An additional investigation traced financial statements from an account that received VBS funds and allegedly controlled by Julius Malema; leading the author of the investigation to estimate that Malema received and directly benefited from R5.3-million illegally taken from VBS. Additional media reports in October 2019, alleged that the party received R4 million of VBS funds into a slush fund that was channeled to Malema via a company named Santaclara Trading.
A former member of the EFF's leadership accused the party leadership of accepting donations from VBS Mutual Bank prior to its collapse.
The South African Parliament’s joint ethics committee found that Shivambu had received at least R180,000, in three payments, of VBS money from his brother's company Sgameka Projects Pty Ltd in 2017; but found no evidence that Malema received any VBS related funds.
Malema has forwarded a
conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
* ...
that the VBS collapse was part of a plot intended to damage the EFF.
After former VBS chairman Tshifhiwa Matodzi was sentenced to 15 years in prison in July 2024, the
Democratic Alliance and
ActionSA demanded that police conduct a fresh investigation of Malema and Shivambu.
Connections to violence
In October 2018, a group of seventeen former EFF members and councillors in the
Northern Cape accused the party's senior leadership of corruption and sexual exploitation of more junior female party members. Four months later, two former female employees of the EFF claimed that party leadership had intimidated and engaged in acts of bullying behaviour towards them and other party staff members.
Following the temporary removal of eight EFF provincial MPs from Gauteng Provincial Legislature, a large number of EFF members protesting against the ruling stormed the provincial legislature building.
During
violent university protests characterized by arson and vandalism, EFF Youth leader Omphile Seleke posted instructions on how to make petrol bombs on social media.
A
Vodacom store in
Polokwane was damaged and looted by EFF members following a presentation by
Corruption Watch at the 2018 Vodacom Awards, which included an image depicting EFF leaders Malema and Shivambu as "abusers of Democracy".
Following the 2019 State of the Nation address in parliament by President Ramaphosa, EFF MP
Marshall Dlamini physically assaulted a member of the presidential security team after a disagreement between EFF MPs and security.
During an October 2022 speech to members of the Western Cape EFF branch, Malema stated that party members should "never be scared to kill" in pursuit of what Malema described as the party's revolution. The
South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) ruled that the statement—along with seven others made by the EFF, such as "a revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate"
—constituted hate speech.
The EFF disputed the SAHRC's ruling.
Intimidation of journalists and the media
Journalist Ranjeni Munusamy lodged an affidavit in December 2018 detailing threatening remarks, intimidation, harassment, and personal attacks made by party members, including Malema, towards her and other journalists
targeted by the party. The affidavit was supported by the South African National Editors Forum and other notable South African journalists such as
Max du Preez, Pauli VanWyk, Adriaan Jurgens Basson, and Barry Bateman.
The EFF denied any involvement in attacks on Munusamy and other journalists.
South African political journalist
Karima Brown was the target of verbal abuse and threats of violence by EFF supporters following the EFF's publication of her personal contact details. This led to charges being laid by the police and Equity Court against the party, amid speculation that the instance might be in breach of South Africa's Electoral Code of Conduct. Parties in breach of the code risk having their registration to run in elections revoked. Regarding the incident, Malema stated that journalists have no privileges, accused Brown of being a state agent, and denied that EFF supporters were making threatening remarks. The court found in favour of Brown and ruled that the EFF had contravened the South African electoral code by inciting its supporters to harass Brown.
Following the publication of an article by the amaBhungane Centre for investigative journalism looking into allegations of corruption by the EFF, the party controversially announced that it would be banning both amaBhungane and the ''Daily Maverick'' from its public events
and that they would be treated as enemies of the party.
In 2018, the party's former deputy president, Floyd Shivambu, was filmed and charged with assaulting Netwerk24 journalist Adrian de Kock in Parliament. In January 2020, the EFF was forced to publicly apologize and pay damages following a Gauteng High Court judgment that the party had made and spread false allegations that two journalists, Thandeka Gqubule and Anton Harber, had been apartheid-era U.S. '
StratCom' agents.
Legal issues
In May 2019, the EFF was found guilty of
defamation of character by the South Gauteng High Court and ordered to pay R500,000 in damages to former Finance Minister
Trevor Manuel.
Manuel brought the EFF and its leader Malema to court after they had alleged that the appointment of Edward Kieswetter as commissioner of SARS by Manuel was the result of nepotism.
Following the judgement, Manuel stated that he would be donating the R500,000 in damages to victims of the
VBS Mutual Bank scandal in which the EFF is alleged to have participated.
Following a string of court-case losses for inciting supporters to commit acts of intimidation (against journalist Brown), land invasion (which case was brought by
AfriForum), or defamation of character (against ANC politician Manuel), the party was left with combined court costs amounting to almost R1 million.
Attacking the judiciary
The judicial monitoring organisation
Judges Matter and the South African Ministry of Justice
have condemned the EFF and its leader Malema for making unsubstantiated comments
that, according to Judges Matter, are "an attack on the judiciary, a threat to judicial independence, and almost certainly a violation of the Constitution".
This followed accusations Malema made in a criminal case against him for
illegally discharging a firearm in a stadium.
Malema accused the magistrate of incompetence and corruption when the magistrate refused to dismiss the case. Malema went on to make unsubstantiated accusations that the judgement was part of a conspiracy against him or his party.
In addition to Malema, other senior EFF members—such as Dali Mpofu and
Griffiths Madonsela—have made accusations, without evidence, against the judiciary and attacked the character of individual judges.
Racism and ethnic prejudice
Since its establishment, the EFF has made a number of controversial racially- or ethnically-based statements about a number of South African minority groups, particularly
white South Africans and
Asian South Africans. The party has been criticized for adopting a biological interpretation of race that allows the EFF to easily generalize and attribute racism to particular groups or individuals based on their demographic classification; they are in turn targeted for racial prejudice by the party.
This has had a polarizing and radicalizing impact on South African politics.
Leaders of the party have targeted a number of public servants, journalists, and communities based on their race.
Anti-white racism
During a 2016 political rally, EFF leader Julius Malema stated, "''We are not calling for the slaughter of white people, at least for now''." When asked for comment by a news agency, the ANC spokesperson, Zizi Kodwa, stated that there would be no comment from the ANC, as "
alemawas addressing his own party supporters". While still the ANCYL leader, Malema was taken to the
Equality Court by AfriForum for repeatedly singing "''
dubul' ibhunu''", meaning "shoot the
Boer". The ANC supported Malema, though AfriForum and the ANC reached a settlement before the appeal case was due to be argued in the
Supreme Court of Appeal. A later 2022 hate-speech case brought against Malema by AfriForum for singing the same song found that the song was not hate speech.
South Africa's
Independent Electoral Commission disqualified EFF councillor Thabo Mabotja from the 2016 local elections due to a
tweet by Mabotja calling for the hacking and killing of white South Africans. The EFF formally welcomed the commission's decision and renounced Mabotja.
Speaking at a political rally in 2018, Malema told supporters to "go after a white man", a reference to
Nelson Mandela Bay mayor
Athol Trollip, adding that "''we are cutting the throat of whiteness''". This led to the Democratic Alliance accusing the EFF's leader of
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
and not sharing the more tolerant views of South Africans broadly. The EFF later stated that the reference to the "throat of whiteness" was "a metaphorical reference to destroying
white privilege
White privilege, or white skin privilege, is the Social privilege, societal privilege that benefits white people over Person of color, non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or ...
" and was "not referring or advocating harm to white people".
Following the death of former Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe, Malema tweeted a number of controversial quotes from the late Mugabe that were malicious towards white people, most notably "''The only white man you can trust is a dead white man''." The SAHRC condemned the quote and stated that it would be taking Malema to court for spreading
hate speech
Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...
.
Anti-Indian racism
The South African Minority Rights Equality Movement initiated a court case against Malema for inciting racial sentiment after he stated that a "majority of
Indians are racist" at an EFF Youth Day rally in 2018.
The EFF was criticized by the
South African Council of Churches, the
Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, and the ANC for comparing Public Enterprises Minister
Pravin Gordhan to a "dog" while protesting against the
Zondo Commission inquiry into government corruption. The EFF also accused the anti-corruption investigators of being members of an "Indian
cabal", in reference to Indian South Africans making up the investigative team. The EFF also retaliated against Gordhan by accusing him and his daughter of corruption. These accusations were proven false and Gordhan laid charges of defamation against Malema, stating that the EFF's "determined defence of corruption and the corrupt, using personal attacks, racism and alleged hate speech is not acceptable and must be challenged". The Equality Court declared that the EFF was not guilty of hate speech in its statements relating to Gordhan. The EFF leadership and its supporters have been criticized for using Gordhan's second name, Jamnadas, as a racial
dog whistle to highlight his Indian ethnicity in a
pejorative
A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...
way and question his status as a South African on social media.
ANC member and government minister, the late
Jackson Mthembu, accused the EFF of being racist and having a "deep-seated hatred" for Indian South Africans when he criticized the party's pursuit of Gordhan during a parliamentary debate.
Ideological criticisms
Accusations of militarism and dictatorial practices
In 2013, the
National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa criticized the EFF's "military command structure" and its failure to clarify who should take ownership over nationalized sections of the economy. In April 2019, a former member of the EFF's central command, Thembinkosi Rawula, accused senior party leaders of dictatorial leadership practices.
The EFF denied Rawula's accusation and stated that it would sue him for defamation as well as make the party's financial information public.
Allegations of fascism and anti-feminism
The party's practices and racial views have been widely defined as "
fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
" by journalists, commentators,
academics, and other political parties. Some commentators have compared its leader
Julius Malema, and the party's
cult of personality
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...
surrounding him, to
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
and
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
.
The ANC’s
National Executive Committee has described the EFF as a "
proto-fascist party run dictatorially". Gareth van Onselen, who worked for the Democratic Alliance for twelve years, accused the party of being "fascist" due to its legacy of racial prejudice in a 2018 article.
In mid-June 2016, a group calling themselves "Anonymous Africa", claiming to be associated with the
hacktivist group
Anonymous
Anonymous may refer to:
* Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown
** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author
* Anonym ...
, condemned the party and perpetrated a
DDoS attack on the EFF's website, stating the reason to be the party's "
nationalist socialist rhetoric".
South African academic Vishwas Satgar has argued that the EFF is not comparable to fascist parties of the twentieth century, but that it is instead a black
neo-fascist party based on the ideologies of centralized state ownership and control along with African
nativism.
According to Satgar, its appeals to "race baiting, nativist nationalism, hypermasculinity, and disposition to violence are similar in these respects to the new fascisms rising in Europe, the United States, and India."
The EFF's leader has been criticized in the media for the party's lack of focus on feminist politics, with some critics accusing the party of
anti-feminism. Feminists have argued that the party's militaristic language undermines its commitment to women's rights, while disaffected female party members have criticized the EFF for having a patriarchal power structure.
Election results
National elections
National Assembly
, -
!Election
!Total votes
!Share of vote
!Seats
!+/–
!Government
, -
!
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, 1,169,259
, 6.35%
,
, 25
,
, -
!
2019
, 1,881,521
, 10.79%
,
, 19
,
, -
!
2024
, 1,529,961
, 9.52%
,
, 5
,
National Council of Provinces
, -
!Election
!Total # of
seats won
!+/–
!Government
, -
!
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
,
, 7
,
, -
!
2019
,
, 4
,
, -
!
2024
,
, 1
,
Provincial elections
!rowspan=2, Election
!colspan=2,
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...
!colspan=2,
Free State
!colspan=2,
Gauteng
Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...
!colspan=2,
Kwazulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
!colspan=2,
Limpopo
Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...
!colspan=2,
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...
!colspan=2,
North-West
!colspan=2,
Northern Cape
!colspan=2,
Western Cape
, -
!%!!Seats
!%!!Seats
!%!!Seats
!%!!Seats
!%!!Seats
!%!!Seats
!%!!Seats
!%!!Seats
!%!!Seats
, -
!
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, 3.48%, , 2/63
, 8.15%, , 2/30
, 10.30%, , 8/73
, 1.85%, , 2/80
, 10.74%, , 6/49
, 6.26%, , 2/30
, 13.21%, , 5/33
, 4.96%, , 2/30
, 2.11%, , 1/42
, -
!
2019
, 7.84%, , 5/63
, 12.58%, , 4/30
, 14.69%, , 11/73
, 9.71%, , 8/80
, 14.43%, , 7/49
, 12.79%, , 4/30
, 18.36%, , 6/33
, 9.71%, , 3/30
, 4.04%, , 2/42
, -
!
2024
, 10.14%, , 8/63
, 13.52%, , 4/30
, 12.93%, , 11/73
, 2.26%, , 2/80
, 14.12%, , 9/49
, 13.87%, , 7/30
, 17.37%, , 7/33
, 13.25%, , 4/30
, 5.30%, , 2/42
Municipal elections
, -
!Election
!Votes
!%
, -
!
2016
, 3,202,679
, 8.31%
, -
!
2021
, 3,223,828
, 10.54%
See also
*
Black First Land First
*
Economic Freedom Fighters of Swaziland
*
Economic Freedom Party
*
Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters
*
Pan Africanist Congress of Azania
*
Socialist Party of Azania
*
Workers and Socialist Party
References
Further reading
*
*
* Julius Malema (preface)
''EFF 2014 Elections Manifesto,''Economic Freedom Fighters.
External links
*
Previous official website(Archived)
{{Authority control
African and Black nationalist organizations in Africa
Anti-capitalist political parties
Anti-Zionism in Africa
Far-left political parties
Political parties in South Africa
Organizations established in 2013
Pan-Africanist political parties in Africa
2013 establishments in South Africa
Anti-imperialist organizations
Russophilic parties
African and Black nationalism in South Africa
Communist parties in South Africa
Marxist–Leninist parties in South Africa
Nationalist parties in South Africa
Political parties based in Johannesburg
Political parties established in 2013
Sankarist political parties
Racism in South Africa
Anti-Indian racism in Africa
Anti-white racism in Africa