Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema came out guns blazing tonight as he addressed party members at a community hall in Orlando East, Soweto. This was the first time Malema addressed the departure of his former deputy Floyd Shivambu, who resigned from the party last week. 

JUMPING SHIP

In a two-hour speech to the party's Gauteng Provincial Ground Forces Forum, Malema said that those who want to leave the EFF better leave now. "The very same people who have left the EFF are the same people who were saying we must join the GNU. I refused to join the GNU because there was the DA and the FF Plus. We are starting a new chapter; if you are still longing for the people that were in the previous chapter, you better leave now and follow them," he said. Malema further said that all those who are quiet now want to jump ship and join the MK Party. "We know all of those people who are quiet now but want to leave. Even if they are quiet, their friends and their relatives have informed us that they want to leave. There are many of our members who are waiting for the outcomes of the People's Assembly to see if they will be deployed or not. If they don't get deployed, they will jump ship and join the uMkhonto weSizwe Party. Those who want to leave must do so now," Malema said. He added that it was painful to think that they had enough soldiers to go to war but only to discover that those soldiers are no longer going to war with them.

MOURNING PERIOD OVER 

Malema told the red berets that it was useless for them to cry over spilt milk. "Those who want to follow the members that recently left our organisation to join the MK must do so now. We have no alliance with the MK. Our partnership is that of being part of the Progressive Caucus, and it ends there. Don't believe everything you read in the news," he said. He also urged members that his deputy's resignation should not get to them. He stated it was time to rebuild the party walls and not allow opportunists masquerading as loyal members to betray them. "We must unite and close ranks against any elements that may seek to use our National People's Assembly as an opportunity to infiltrate and destroy the EFF,' he said. He further stated that it was time to move past the mourning of Shivambu's departure, urging EFF members to put on their boots and continue with the struggle. "You have mourned; you can't mourn forever. Today ends the mourning period,' he said. Malema also said that everything else that looks like Shivambu shall be dismantled in the EFF and gotten rid of with immediate effect. He also announced that spokesperson Sinawo Thambo will be repacing Shivambu in Parliament.