WATCH | Malema affirms alignment with King Misuzulu on land control

Julius Malema and Misizulu

Cape Town – EFF leader Julius Malema says there is no contradiction between the EFF’s support for expropriation of land without compensation for state ownership and the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB)’s control of 2.8 million hectares of land.

Malema said this during his party’s visit to King Misuzulu KaZwelithini — the sole trustee of the ITB — in Ulundi, northern KZN, on Tuesday.

Malema argued that since the trust was accountable to parliament, it was essentially a state organ, and the land owned by the ITB was, therefore, owned by the state.

“We don’t find any contradiction when we say what role will traditional leaders play. When you take the land into the hands of the state, that question does not arise because traditional leaders are the state.

“Our king here, he owns the land — and the EFF is at the centre of the land struggle. When the land is owned by the king, our people will be able to access the land and use it. When people have a problem with the state owning the land, why don’t you have a problem with Ingonyama Trust owning the land? Because it’s exactly what we are saying: the king is the state. There is no contradiction,” the report quoted Malema as saying.

He said that under an EFF government, traditional leaders would play a role in the allocation and distribution of nationalised land.

The visit aimed to formalise the relationship between the EFF and the king, and to strengthen ties with the royal family and traditional leadership in the region.

Malema emphasized the importance of traditional leaders in understanding and addressing the problems of communities on a daily basis.

The EFF plans to launch its manifesto in Durban on February 10.

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu 

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