Staff Reporter
MDC-Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has on several occasions reportedly tried to arrange a meeting with South Africa’s opposition leader for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, who has constantly turning down the request.
According to a source within the MDC-Alliance, Malema is turning down Chamisa’s request for a meeting citing that the two opposition political parties had different ideologies, and that he (Chamisa) is a leader of a white man’s project.
The source revealed that Malema instead is planning to meet President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“Our president is making a lot of efforts to meet the EFF leader, but Malema is saying he is not yet ready to meet him, citing a lot of reasons. One of the reasons is that he is accusing Chamisa of being a puppet of the Western nations who is being used to destroy his own country.
“Malema, despite being an opposition leader, is totally against Zimbabwean sanctions, which the MDC invited and he is aware that the sanctions have caused untold suffering to the ordinary Zimbabweans. That is why he doesn’t want to associate himself with the MDC-Alliance,” said the source.
Chamisa and his deputy, Tendai Biti, had been at the forefront of lobbying for the continuation of illegal sanctions that were imposed on Zimbabwe by some Western nations as punishment for embarking on the Land Reform Programme.
Ideologically, EFF and the MDC-Alliance are worlds apart. The MDC-Alliance is a puppet of the West, which is being used to reverse the gains of the country's liberation struggle especially, the land reform. EFF’s ideology on the other hand is closer to Zanu-PF’s. They both fight for black empowerment. The EFF wants South Africans to benefit from their own resources including land, just like what Zimbabwe did.
Both Zanu-PF and EFF believe that land ownership is the backbone to economic prosperity.
Chamisa has also been accused of mimicking EFF and Malema's trademark dress code. On several occasions the MDC-Alliance have used images of EFF rallies on social media claiming it was their gatherings.
In 2019, Malema castigated Chamisa for rejecting the 2018 electoral outcome even before the elections were held. He argued that being able to pull huge crowds at rallies does not mean that one has won an election. Malema said if that was the case, there was no need to hold elections as rallies would be used to determine the winner.
Chamisa wants to court every opposition in the region with a view to securing support, in the likely event that they contest the 2023 election outcome, which they are likely to do as predictions are pointing to a ZANU PF win.
