Julius Malema booted AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo out of the EFF after the monarch took a trip to Israel and met with government officials there. The party leader went off during a press conference, saying anybody who buddies up with Israel while Gaza is getting wrecked cannot represent the movement or claim membership. Malema doubled down by pointing out that Parliament already voted to shut down the Israeli embassy in South Africa, but President Cyril Ramaphosa keeps dragging his feet on actually doing it.
The king tried playing it off as a personal diplomatic thing that should not get turned into politics, but the EFF was not having it. Malema clarified that the royal family as a whole still has good standing with the party, just not Dalindyebo himself anymore. People online are split between cheering the principled stance and thinking it was overkill to kick out someone with that much cultural influence in the Eastern Cape.
The king tried playing it off as a personal diplomatic thing that should not get turned into politics, but the EFF was not having it. Malema clarified that the royal family as a whole still has good standing with the party, just not Dalindyebo himself anymore. People online are split between cheering the principled stance and thinking it was overkill to kick out someone with that much cultural influence in the Eastern Cape.
