Julius Malema, full name Julius Sello Malema (born March 3, 1981 in Seshego township, South Africa), is a South African politician most known for his fiery outspokenness and inspirational oratory.

He first joined national politics as president of the African National Congress Youth League (2008–12) and later as leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, a Marxist political party he helped found in 2013.

In 2014, he was elected to the National Assembly as a Member of Parliament.

Julius Malema Julius Malema View all available media View all facts and figures Malema was raised in what is now the Limpopo province by his mother, a domestic worker, and his grandmother.

He reportedly joined the African National Congress’s Masupatsela (in English, frequently referred to as Young Pioneers or Trailblazers) club when he was nine years old (ANC).

He joined the ANC Youth League in 1994 and soon rose to positions of local and regional leadership in the organization.

Malema was also an active member of the Congress of South African Students, serving as province chairperson in 1997 and president from 2001 to 2004.

In April 2008, he narrowly won election as president of the ANC Youth League following a fractious group meeting.

Malema was vociferous in his support for ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma, who later became ANC and South African president.

His declarations of support—saying he would “kill for Zuma”—drew widespread condemnation, as did his public singing of an ANC liberation song with the lines “shoot the Boer,” which many deemed to be racially charged and capable of inciting violence. (

He continued to sing it, and was eventually convicted of doing so by a South African court in 2011, citing the song as “hate speech.”)

In March 2010, he was convicted of using “hate speech” in relation to comments he made about a woman who accused Zuma of rape in 2006, and in April 2010, a series of incidents—ranging from Malema’s public support for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to his equally public disparagement of Mugabe’s rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, during a time when Zuma was attempting to mediate between the two men—led to Malema’s verbal Malema replied to Zuma’s criticism by turning on the leader, whom he had previously defended vehemently, and publicly criticizing him.

Malema was eventually summoned before an ANC disciplinary tribunal in May 2010; as part of a plea bargain agreement, he was expected to publicly repent for his behavior and face suspension from the party if he engaged in similar behavior within the next two years.

Malema maintained his popularity inside the ANC Youth League and beyond the next year, owing to his populist agenda, which included calls for nationalizing mines and banks and expropriating white-owned farmland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In June 2011, he was re-elected president of the ANC Youth League.

He also maintained the ANC’s disruptive language and behavior.

In August 2011, the party scheduled another disciplinary hearing following his call for the overthrow of the government in neighboring Botswana.

The ANC charged Zuma of creating divisions within the organization, putting it into discredit, and spreading intolerance as a result of this episode and others—including additional criticism of Zuma.

Malema was convicted guilty of the first two charges in November and was sentenced to a five-year suspension.

His appeal was denied in February 2012, and the ANC removed Malema as a result of his behavior throughout the appeals phase, the ANC stated.

Malema appealed again, and the ANC affirmed the expulsion in April 2012.