Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has once again pledged his party’s unwavering commitment to the cause of land expropriation without compensation.
Speaking at the EFF’s Land Reclamation Day event in Johannesburg, Malema emphasized that the struggle for land rights has deep roots in South African history.
Land Reclamation Day and Historical Context
The gathering at Sophiatown Extreme Park marked an important occasion for the EFF as Malema reminded the crowd of the party’s longstanding efforts to reclaim land that was taken from their ancestors.
According to Malema, the fight for land rights began back in 1652, when European colonial powers first started their occupation of South Africa.
“We are here to claim the land that was stolen from our ancestors,” Malema declared.
“This is a fight to finish what those who were displaced and silenced could not complete.
We are here to take the land back, without fear of compensation.”
The Beginning of Dispossession
Malema also took the opportunity to criticize the colonial history of South Africa, pinpointing 1652 as the year that European settlers began their project of dispossession.
“That year, fighters, marked the start of European imperialism in southern Africa.
It wasn’t the beginning of history, but the beginning of dispossession,” he explained.
For Malema, the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck at the Cape was the first step in a long history of injustice.
He explained that van Riebeeck was not a tourist or refugee but an agent of European imperialism sent by the Dutch East India Company to secure land, labor, and resources for the Dutch Empire.
The Displacement of Khoi and San People
Malema shared his perspective on the impact of European settlers on the indigenous people of South Africa.
He pointed out that, within a short time, the Dutch settlers were no longer merely traders but landowners—through violence, encroachment, and oppression.
The Khoi and San people were pushed off their ancestral lands, their grazing areas taken, and their lives disrupted by foreign colonizers.
“The Dutch settlers did not come to negotiate, but to displace.
They brought disease, they killed, they raped, and they enslaved,” Malema remarked.
“The Khoi and San were the first victims of European colonialism.”
Rejection of the Expropriation Bill
Malema also expressed his party’s opposition to the Expropriation Bill signed earlier this year.
The bill was intended to facilitate land redistribution but did not go far enough for the EFF’s goals of full land expropriation without compensation.
Malema made it clear that the EFF would continue to resist any attempts to slow down or limit the land reform process.
“We will not stop our fight for land,” Malema vowed, reaffirming his party’s stance on the issue.
In conclusion, the EFF leader called on his supporters to remain steadfast in their quest for justice and to keep the pressure on the government for meaningful change.