Hitmen refused to kill me – Juju
EFF leader says ANC people in the NW were behind ‘assassination plot’
EFF leader Julius Malema was alerted to the alleged assassination plot against him by a “reliable source” within the state security services.
Malema yesterday told Sowetan in an exclusive interview that he received information that he was to be assassinated in a manner similar to that of North West businessman Wandile Bozwana.
Malema was informed after the Cape Town underworld figures sympathetic to the EFF allegedly rejected the assignment to kill him.
“Information was brought to our attention that there is a plot by some people in the North West. These people are related to the ANC.
“We have got names of the people championing it in the North West. We got names of the person who was asked to engage the underworld in Cape Town,” said Malema.
He said he discussed the matter with both Police Minister Bheki Cele and National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole, and handed over the information. Officials from the police crime intelligence division also met with Malema yesterday.
“I will be opening a case so that police have got a case number to make a follow-up.”
Malema also revealed that he was regularly threatened through phone calls, e-mails and messages via social media, including by supporters of former president Jacob Zuma.
“We are being threatened every day, particularly when it comes to the land question. There are extreme rightwingers who threaten us but we never take them serious… Perhaps they … are being personal and emotional about the whole engagement.
“I got calls about [Zuma’s] removal, including telling me I should not set my foot in KZN.
“Funny enough, I even got calls when I was engaging with the current president in parliament. I thought his supporters were a bit different and sophisticated to appreciate that it’s a discourse, especially the way me and him engage to a point that it is not hostile.”
He said the threat this week was taken seriously because “the source happened to be in the security cluster of the state”.
He said he did not want to believe that the threat was related to the EFF’s motion of no confidence against premier Supra Mahumapelo, “but that is the only thing currently happening in the North West”.
He said tensions were heightened by the SACP saying its MPLs would vote in support of the EFF motion.
“We have now asked for a secret ballot. So the levels of desperation in the province are extremely high,” said Malema.
ANC national spokesman Pule Mabe said he found it worrying that his organisation’s name was drawn into assassination allegations without being “backed by facts”.
“… If there are names attached to the information, they may as well go to next police station. We cannot react to conspiracies,” Mabe said.