Q&A

The EFF has trashed local H&M stores and said the Swedish multinational must be forced to stop operating and leave. Chris Barron asked JULIUS MALEMA . . .

Is trashing local retail outlets your idea of democracy?

No. Peaceful protest is my idea of democracy.

So why didn’t your members peacefully protest at these stores instead of trashing them and intimidating staff and shoppers?

They did exactly that. They protested peacefully and no staff member was intimidated. The opposite happened. Staff were even joining the EFF on site.

The idea was exactly that. To get into the stores, to protest in the stores. As they were doing that unfortunately some mirrors were damaged. But it’s not a train smash. There are such things in a protest.

Judging by the TV footage it looked like a train smash.