Commander-in-chief of South African opposition party, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, has called for the closure of the Zimbabwean Embassy in South Africa until the Zimbabwean government respects citizens’ rights.
Malema warned that failure to do so, the EFF will prevent Zimbabwean government officials from participating in any gathering in South Africa. Said Malema:
We call for the removal of the Zimbabwean Embassy in SA until they restore the human rights in that country. Failure to do so, we will prevent any official from the Zimbabwean government from participating in any gathering in SA until they respect ordinary Zimbabweans.
This comes a day after the Zimbabwe Embassy in South Africa issued a statement denouncing the EFF and calling the party “mischievous”.
In the statement issued on Sunday, the Zimbabwean Embassy in South Africa castigated the EFF after it spoke strongly against the Emmerson Mnangagwa-led administration’s decision to compensate white former commercial farmers. Part of the statement read:
The Embassy has, in the past, restrained itself from responding to the many provocative statements issued by the EFF about Zimbabwe.
On this occasion, we cannot remain silent in the face of the EFF’s pretentiousness to know more about the history and politics of Zimbabwe than the Zimbabweans themselves.
Even so, the EFF has the audacity to dare teach Zimbabweans, even our Head of State, about the land question in our country.
FULL TEXT: Zimbabwe Embassy Response To Malema’s ‘Provocative’ Statement On Compensating White Farmers