Julius Malema says white people must return the land they have stolen from black people

Malema made this claim during a speech last week, where he addressed the Umsunduzi Ground Forces Forum.

He highlighted that he never said that white people should leave South Africa. Instead, he asked for land restitution.

“We want our land back. I speak in English. It is not because white people can’t hear what I’m saying. They hear what I am saying,” he said.

“I never said white people must leave South Africa. I said return the land so that we can share the minerals of this country together.”

“They want to sit at the table and eat alone while we watch them. That time is over. We want to sit at the table. This table belongs to us. It is our table.”

Malema argued that black people lack dignity because they do not own property or land. This, he said, should change.

“You will never have dignity without land. No one will be respected without land,” he told EFF members in Umsunduzi.

“We are not disrespected because we are black. We are disrespected because we don’t own property. The ownership of property starts with the land.”

Malema argued that jobs are also linked to land, especially regarding mining rights associated with the land in mineral-rich areas.

“When you say, ‘We want these mines,’ on whose land are they situated? You must first take the land, because the land comes with everything,” he said.

“That’s why when these white people arrived in South Africa, they did not steal our women. They did that later,” he said.

“When they arrived, the first thing they stole was the land. From there, they knew everything else would follow.”

Malema said that because black people don’t own land, they feel ashamed and are not as confident as white people.

“Look at an uneducated white person. Many of them didn’t go to school. Look at him walk. He walks with confidence because he knows he owns this property,” he said.

“Black people don’t walk with confidence. We all walk like we’re running away. We walk defensively so that if trouble starts, we’re ready to run and avoid becoming suspects.”

He added that the reason black people are suspected of crimes, like shoplifting, is that they do not own land.