'The king is the state': Malema endorses King Misuzulu’s control of land

The EFF says there’s no contradiction between its stance on expropriation of land without compensation for state ownership and the Ingonyama Trust Board’s (ITB) control of 2.8-million hectares of land in KwaZulu-Natal. 

EFF leader Julius Malema made the comments during his party’s visit to King Misuzulu KaZwelithini — the sole trustee of the ITB — in Ulundi, northern KZN, on Tuesday. 

Malema said the trust is accountable to parliament “and once you give accountability to parliament you are a state organ, so the land owned by Ingonyama Trust is owned by the state because the king is the state”.

In his explanation, Malema said part of how an EFF government plans to manage nationalised land would include the involvement of traditional leaders in the allocation and distribution of such land. 

“We don’t find any contradiction when we say what role will traditional leaders play. When you take the land into the hands of the state, that question does not arise because traditional leaders are the state. 

“Our king here, he owns the land — and the EFF is at the centre of the land struggle. When the land is owned by the king, our people will be able to access the land and use it. When people have a problem with the state owning the land, why don’t you have a problem with Ingonyama Trust owning the land? Because it’s exactly what we are saying: the king is the state. There is no contradiction,” he said.

The EFF’s visit to the king is intended to formalise their relationship with the monarch and inform the king that the party will launch its manifesto in Durban on February 10, Malema said. 

“We said we will also be here, campaigning for the election, so they should not be shocked when they see the red berets in the streets. Izinduna nezinkosi must be briefed that there is an organisation that will be going up and down in KZN.”

The EFF also wanted to strengthen its relationship with the royal family and traditional leadership, and to work with them closely to ensure the delivery of services to communities.

King Misuzulu gave the EFF his blessing, said Malema. “He was happy to see us and reminded us that he welcomes all political parties and we appreciate that.”

Malema reiterated the importance of traditional leaders. 

“People who deal with communities on a daily basis, they know the problems of our communities, they know problems of individual families. They try by all means to intervene and help those people. They are directly in contact with our people. They serve as that link and consistently remind the political leadership that we should not forget the masses.”

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