STATEMENT BY JULIUS MALEMA IN RESPONSE TO THE GUPTA'S HIGH TREASON AND CULTURE OF FEAR OF SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER IN SOUTH AFRICA:

05 May 2013

We have over the past week observed the events, statements and developments that happened around the illegal and treacherous landing of a Gupta plane carrying more than 300 people in one of South Africa's National Key Points, the Waterkloof Airbase, without the approval of the Minister of Defence.

Since that incident, everyone, including the media, analysts, union leaders, government Ministers have been egg-walking around the problem and therefore failing to expose and speak to the reason why South Africa's security was undermined. As considerate and fearless South Africans, it is now the moment once again to speak truth and expose what many people are scared to say. As youth, we carry an obligation to speak truth at all times, and we will never claim easy victories. 

As early as February 2011, during the launch of the ANC Local Government Elections Manifesto in Rustenburg, we on behalf of the ANC Youth League and in front of the leadership of the ANC and the alliance, cautioned against the enrichment and control by families of our democracy. We said in the rally that "This is not a democracy of families. This is a democracy of the people of South Africa"' in reference to our knowledge that the Gupta family had taken control of our government through President Jacob Zuma.

It is not a fallacy that the Gupta family has tremendous control over the ANC and government and have had influence and knowledge of key decisions even before the most senior of ANC leaders are aware. It is not a secret that President Zuma discusses sensitive government and ANC decisions with the Guptas. It is not a secret that the Gupta family employs one of the wives of President Zuma and doing business with his children, therefore benefiting him and his family out of the business they do with government.

It is not a fallacy that many government Ministers and a Premier of Free State (whose child is a business partner of the Guptas) have met with the Guptas to take instruction on what should happen in government on many occasions. It is not a fallacy that the Guptas hijacked the calls for media diversity by launching The New Age Newspaper with the sole purpose of protecting Zuma, and funded by government despite the lack of verifiable circulation figures.

It is this close relationship between the Gupta and Zuma family that has compromised our national security and gave Guptas power to decorate and use our national key point. To suggest that President Zuma is not aware or was not complicit in the granting of the permission to his friends to use the Waterkloof airbase is just plain foolishness. The Guptas are a law unto themselves because they have assurances of the President, having landed a helicopter without approval in one of the Parks in Johannesburg before. We will in a different space and at the correct time reveal the details of other Gupta influences over ANC and government decisions so that the people of South Africa will have a better knowledge of what we are dealing with. 

We have said inside and outside the ANC that President Zuma is a liability to the ANC, to South Africa and now to the African continent. He is a prime instigator of instability in the ANC, South Africa and African continent, and the sooner society notices that the better. President Zuma has thus far spent more than R25 million of government money on Legal fees to prevent facing a Court of Law to explain if he is corrupt or not, and there is no fair Court of Law that will acquit him.

President Zuma has presided over textbooks crisis, Marikana massacre, police brutality, mass unemployment and the killing of our soldiers in the CAR and everyone is scared to confront him on those grave matters. The Prime Minister of the CAR Nicolas Tiangaye said here in South Africa that the relationship between South Africa and ex-president Bozize was personalized, meaning that our soldiers died in the CAR because of personalized relationship.

Now because of other personalized relationship and President Zuma's nephew business dealings in the Democratic Republic of Congo, our soldiers will be donated to another war, which has potential to cause instability in our own country. The protest actions of DRC citizens to ANC Head Offices, Luthuli House and other many events reveals that South Africa is imposing itself on the DRC and such will sacrifice and compromise our legitimacy in the continent. This is due to a directionless President, whom everyone is scared to question, hence the developments in our Airbase.

Now that the incident has happened, we call on the South African National Prosecutions Authority to charge the Gupta family with high treason for initiating and pushing through efforts that led to the usage of our military airbase despite the disapproval by the Minister of Defence. Attempts to use a key national security point without approval by relevant authorities is treason.

It is plain foolishness and naïveté to ever believe that some junior officers, including Police Reservists are the guilty ones on this case because they were just carrying instructions of Highest authority. If the NPA is not in the pockets of the Guptas, like many are, it will proceed to lay charges of treason against the Gupta family for undermining and threatening national security. Unions are also quiet over victimization of Police, Police Reservists and Traffic Cops by Senior Officials and will be the first ones to cry counter-revolution when alternate Unions emerge. 

The source of GUPTAS authority, President Zuma should do the honourable thing and resign because he is too much of a liability to the ANC, South Africa and Africa as a whole. The ANC should know that with Zuma as its President, the people will lose confidence in the Movement, and the ANC should decide whether it chooses ZUMA or the PEOPLE. With Zuma as a President, the ANC will face many other humiliating occurrences due to his poor judgment and personal blunders that will be exposed. We have made mistakes before and justified him to the people (we were made to believe he is a person of the people), and like we said before, that was our biggest mistake ever and now there is time and space to correct it. The time for Zuma to step down is now! We should all agree that President Zuma has sold South Africa over a plate of curry. 

Statement issued by Julius Maleman on behalf of Economic Freedom Fighters, who even under banishment and isolation wanted their voice to be heard, May 5 2013

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