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On February 9, Elon Musk criticized South African politician Julius Malema, citing a 2018 video where Malema urged followers to target white people. Musk called for sanctions, labeling him an "international criminal."
As per The Guardian, Julius Malema was the African National Congress Youth League president from 2008 to 2012. In 2014, he became an MP in the National Assembly. Currently, he is the leader of South Africa's Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a South African Marxist-Leninist and pan-Africanist political party.
As per the media outlet's report, in his 2018 speech, Malema told his party followers that he was going to remove Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Athol Trollip from his position because he was a white man. Malema said,
"So these people, when you want to hit them hard, go for a white man. They feel a terrible pain because you have touched a white man. Not because Mashaba and Solly will not be touched. They will be touched, don't worry. But we are staring with this whiteness. We are cutting the throat of whiteness."
Elon Musk responded to the clip and tweeted on Sunday,
"Immediate sanctions for Malema and declaration of him as an international criminal!"
On February 10, Musk tweeted again. This time, he called the politician a "genocidal lunatic" for targeting a White man. He wrote,
"This genocidal lunatic is the leader of a significant political party in the South African parliament."
What was EFF's response to Elon Musk?
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) responded to Elon Musk's tweet on February 9. In their official statement, the party claimed Musk's wealth had overwhelmed his mind, and that's why he considered himself the "supreme ruler."
"Musk has assumed the role of a global billionaire maniac, whose grotesque wealth has overwhelmed him and made him think of himself as the supreme ruler of not only the Oval Office but of all nations of the world."
Calling Elon Musk "deranged," the far-left political party said it is not surprising to them that the capitalist establishment considered Malema as an enemy.
"It is therefore not surprising that Julius Malema would be declared an enemy by the global capitalist establishment, an agenda advanced by deranged individuals such as Elon Musk."
EFF also condemned Musk's allies in the USA, Israel, and the right-wing parties in South Africa to go to hell.
"The EFF takes this opportunity to tell Elon Musk and all his allies—in the USA, in Israel, and the right-wing groups in South Africa that have mobilized Musk—to collectively go to hell."
This is not the first time Musk has clashed with Julius Malema. In 2023, Musk condemned Malema for chanting "kill the Boer." The word "Boer" refers to the descendants of European colonizers. According to historian Nomalanga Mkhize, the song is not about hurting the Boers but about speaking up against discrimination.
According to Forbes, the billionaire criticized the politician for encouraging genocide against White people in South Africa. He also urged the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, to take action.
