Johannesburg – The SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) on Saturday berated Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema for “abusing freedom of speech”.

This follows a threat made by Malema in an interview with Al Jazeera TV news that members of the EFF were ready to “literally take up arms and have physical fight against the government”.

“The claim by Malema that his party members are involved in peaceful protests is misleading and devoid of truth,” Sanco national spokesman Jabu Mahlangu said.

“The EFF are anarchists that are associated with lawlessness and every act of violence that undermines the rule of law,” he said.

Malema’s toxic language and war talk amounted to incitement of violence that undermined South Africa’s constitutional democracy.

“His utterances are a violation of the oath of allegiance that he had sworn to as a Member of Parliament,” Mahlangu said.

The EFF was desperately trying to lay the foundation for unruly behaviour and rejection of the outcome of the August 3 local government elections results which the party had realised it was going to lose.

The allegation that in 2014 the national and provincial government elections were rigged were baseless because there were no disputes lodged by EFF party agents at any voting station across the country, Mahlangu said.

African News Agency