Julius Malema

Julius Sello Malema was born on 3 March 1981 in Seshego, in South Africa's Limpopo province, and grew up in significant poverty following his parents' separation, raised primarily by his mother, a domestic worker, before becoming politically active as a teenager through the African National Congress Youth League during the post-apartheid democratic transition period.

Malema rose rapidly through the ANC Youth League, becoming its president in 2008, and built a reputation as a combative, populist voice advocating for more aggressive economic transformation policies, including land redistribution without compensation and nationalisation of mines, positions that placed him at odds with the ANC's more moderate mainstream economic policy under successive party leaderships.

Malema was expelled from the ANC in 2012 following escalating internal conflict with party leadership, including disciplinary charges related to statements and conduct the party considered damaging to its unity and public image, a significant breach given his previously prominent position within the ANC's youth structures.

In 2013 Malema founded the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a new political party explicitly built around his advocacy for radical economic redistribution, land reform and a more confrontational approach to addressing South Africa's persistent post-apartheid economic inequality, positioning the party to the ANC's political left on economic policy.

The EFF has grown into a significant, if still minority, force within South African politics since its founding, winning seats in the national parliament and becoming known for its distinctive red beret-wearing parliamentary presence and consistently combative, disruptive parliamentary tactics directly challenging both the ANC government and broader South African political and economic establishment.

Malema has faced numerous legal challenges throughout his political career, including charges related to hate speech, fraud and corruption, some resulting in convictions and others dismissed or still pending, reflecting the significant, ongoing controversy surrounding both his political rhetoric and his personal conduct. He remains a significant, deeply polarising figure in contemporary South African politics, his EFF continuing to attract support from South Africans frustrated with the pace of post-apartheid economic transformation while drawing substantial criticism over his rhetoric and legal controversies.