Malema is God’s gift to Lekota

The rantings of Julius Malema were initially greeted with horror. Then with snickers behind the hand. Now they are the subject of belly laughs - at least among the chattering (or should that be twittering?) classes.

But there are those who aren’t laughing. Many, many South Africans are shocked that the ANC has allowed so callow and aggressive a figure to bellow out violent statements such as his proclamation that he will kill for ANC president Jacob Zuma.

Mosiuoa Lekota is a canny enough politician to know that Malema is the soft underbelly of the ANC leadership he is challenging with a new political party.

He made much in his media briefing on Wednesday of how the ANC was threatening to kill those who didn’t support Zuma.

Of all the things he said, this was the one which resonated most loudly with those disillusioned with the ANC’s current path.

As if on cue, Malema yesterday called a media briefing where he continued with his blathering, this time about how “right-wing” Lekota was and how, the ANC leadership’s overtures notwithstanding, he was already expelling him from the organisation.

Out came the verbal garbage: “The possible formation of the political party by Ntate Lekota and Mluleki George, who think they are anointed born leaders will represent nothing but narrow right-wing opportunism … yadda, yadda, yadda.”

Lekota must have been chuckling with glee.

On Wednesday he observed how when a child says naughty things and is not disciplined by the adults around him, this can only be for one reason - they don’t want the child to turn around and say: “But you told me to say it!”

As long as Malema is allowed to be a loose cannon, the perception will persist that he is acting with the blessing of Zuma and the ANC leadership. Malema must be reined in if only for the sake of maturing the nation’s politics.