Embroiled in a controversy around the chanting of incendiary rhetoric at his party’s anniversary celebrations, EFF leader Julius Malema has again issued a call for lethal force to be used – this time by the police against illegal miners, the so-called zama-zamas.
‘If you know that it is the police that are coming down and you still shoot, they must drop them dead. All of them, including those who were displaying firearms,’ Malema said.
Anyone drawing a firearm against the state was committing an act of war.
He was speaking at a news conference. Illegal mining and its violent side have featured prominently in South Africa.
He added that the police had sufficient resources to deal with the threat, dismissing claims that they were under-equipped to deal with illegal mining.