On Wednesday, Julius Malema, the head of the opposition in South Africa, called Zanu PF a “criminal syndicate” that the people had rejected but was still holding onto power.
The head of the Economic Freedom Fighters, the third-biggest party in South Africa, said to the SABC that military might was maintaining President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government in place.
“If you go to Zimbabwe, Zanu PF is not a popular party, it’s a criminal syndicate that steals elections, uses the army and the police to intimidate people,” Malema charged.
Malema was speaking about the African National Congress’s fall, which some political observers believe could result in the party receiving fewer than 50% of the popular vote in the upcoming elections.
After years of struggle against white minority rule, South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994, and the African National Congress (ANC) was then in power.
“The history of the liberation movement on the continent is such that after 30 years, it becomes self-destructive, it becomes a snake that bites and eats itself, so whether the EFF is there or not, the ANC is going to die a natural death, the same thing as Zanu PF,” Malema said.
With 52% of the vote, Mnangagwa was proclaimed the victor of the August elections in Zimbabwe; however, his rivals charged that the electoral commision had stifled the opposition vote by distributing ballots to some districts after the deadline.
Additionally, Zanu PF operatives were charged with widespread intimidation during elections, which SADC observers stated did not meet the standards necessary for democratic elections.
