Malema lashes out at Mngxitama

Economic Freedom Fighters president Julius Malema lashed out at party commissar Andile Mngxitama in Bloemfontein on Monday.

"Why do you say I must save the organisation? From what?," he asked, looking in the direction of Gauteng delegates.

"We cannot be blamed because of whoever was not elected... members exercised their right and there's nothing I could do about that."

Mgxitama, a Gauteng delegate, had already left the hall with several others.

The party's national people's assembly was meeting at the University of the Free State to nominate additional members.

The Gauteng delegates briefly disrupted proceedings by singing and pointing fingers at the party leadership seated up front.

An emotional Mngxitama approached the microphone earlier and declined his nomination as an additional member.

"Comrade president, protect this movement. I spoke to fighters and was going to accept, but my revolutionary consciousness cannot allow me to accept the nomination," he said to loud applause from fellow Gauteng members.

Malema said the EFF would not "nurse individuals' feelings.

"We are not going to nurse individuals' feelings, anyone who gets offended by a democratic outcome has themselves to blame."

There was information that some disgruntled people were burning things outside the hall, Malema said.

"I don't know what or why they're doing that... but they have themselves to blame," he said.

Regarding the typed list of 35 additional members, Malema said the names were written down after agreements between provinces.

"It was decided that because, say for example, Eastern Cape delegates could not pronounce the names of Limpopo candidates, they then all agreed to write them down in a form of a list," he said to a loud applause.

The 35 members who were elected were called up to the stage.

Malema congratulated them.

The delegates are to form commissions and hold closed sessions on Monday night.