Julius Malema
Julius Malema | |
|---|---|
Malema in 2024 | |
| President of the Economic Freedom Fighters | |
| Assumed office 26 July 2013 | |
| Deputy | Godrich Gardee |
| Preceded by | Party established |
| 9th President of the African National Congress Youth League | |
| In office April 2008 – April 2012 | |
| Deputy | Andile Lungisa Ronald Lamola |
| Preceded by | Fikile Mbalula |
| Succeeded by | Collen Maine |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| Assumed office 21 May 2014 | |
| Constituency | Limpopo |
| President of the Congress of South African Students | |
| In office 1999–2002 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Julius Sello Malema 3 March 1981 |
| Party | African National Congress (1990–2012) Economic Freedom Fighters (2013–present) |
| Spouse |
Mantwa Matlala (m. 2014) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | University of South Africa University of the Witwatersrand |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Nickname | Juju |
Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981) is a South African politician. He is the founder and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a communist and black nationalist political party since 2013. Before the foundation of EFF, he served as a president of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) from 2008 until his expulsion from the party in 2012.
As a child, Malema joined the ANC and was a highly engaged member while growing up; he was ultimately elected president of its Youth League in April 2008 under controversial circumstances. While president, he was an early proponent of nationalising South Africa's mining industry and expropriating land without compensation. He rose to national prominence as an outspoken supporter of Jacob Zuma, then ANC president and later President of South Africa.
However, Malema's relationship with Zuma strained immensely following numerous disciplinary deliberations against him by the ANC; by 2012, he was campaigning for Zuma to be removed from office, ahead of the ANC's 53rd National Conference. In April of that year, months before the conference was due to take place, Malema was expelled from the ANC for bringing the party into disrepute. The following year, he founded the EFF, and was elected to the National Assembly in 2014, winning 25 seats in the assembly.
Malema has been embroiled in a variety of legal issues throughout his political career: he has been convicted of hate speech, in March 2010 for demeaning comments about Zuma's rape accuser. In 2012, Malema was charged with fraud, money laundering and racketeering. After numerous postponements, the case was dismissed by the courts in 2015 due to repeated delays by the National Prosecuting Authority.
In 2022, Malema gave a speech against a white man who attacked EFF party members. As a consequence of the speech, in 2025, Malema was convicted of hate speech for according to the court "calling for [racists] to be killed". Malema has applied for an appeal to a higher court.
On 1 October 2025, Malema was convicted of five offenses, including the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, illegally firing a weapon in public, and reckless endangerment. The offences related to an EFF rally, at which Malema fired between 14 and 15 live rounds on a stage, in front of 20,000 EFF supporters. Malema will undergo pre-sentencing in January 2026, where he faces a minimum prison sentence of 15 years. Furthermore, as per the Constitution of South Africa, should he receive a sentence of 12 months or more, without the option of a fine, and fails to have the judgement overturned on appeal, Malema will be barred from serving as a Member of Parliament for five years.