Malema may become next Mandela

[Necuno]

Malema may become next Mandela

Controversial African National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema might grow up to be as great an icon as Nelson Mandela, says Cosatu general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.

Vavi told workers from the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers' Union in the Johannesburg City Hall that Mandela was just as intolerable in his youth as Malema.

He said Mandela was a militant youth leader in the 1940s who campaigned for the election of new ANC leaders.

"(Mandela) came as a very militant leader of the Youth League. He turned tables around, he was absolutely as intolerant in a way to our leaders as Julius Malema is now," Vavi said to applause.

"(Mandela) moved from being that difficult and militant to being an icon, and one of the most admired leaders worldwide.




"Who knows, the Julius Malema that is being condemned now may just grow up and become the icon of the world going forward," he said.

Vavi added that Malema ensured in 2007 that there was a change of leadership in the ANC, just as Mandela had done in 1949 in the election of Anton Lembede as party leader.

He said only people who knew little about the history of the ANC would condemn Malema.

"I am not saying all his statements are okay. Surely Julius Malema does go out of the boundaries.

"But when he speaks the truth sometimes, he speaks it a bit hard - so hard that people don't want to hear. Most of the time he is spot-on - it is the truth most people don't want to hear."

In reference to Malema's jibe last year towards COPE's first deputy president, Mbhazima Shilowa, who used to be a security guard and was rumoured not to be paying maintenance to his adult son, Vavi said Malema was right.

"How can you say you will take care of millions and millions of others when you can't take care of your own?"

Malema has most recently attacked DA leader Helen Zille and her deputy, Joe Seremane, referring to her as a colonialist and to him as a black man who "smiles nicely for the madam".

Zille retaliated by calling him an "inkwenkwe", a derogatory isiXhosa term meaning "uncircumcised boy".

[diesel]

In that case lets lock him up for 25 years.

[Kosmik]

In that case lets lock him up for 25 years.

Lol.

However if I was Mandela I'd be pissed at that comparison.

[stoke]

Why is "Most of the time" acceptable?
Bloody hell, why on earth can we NOT aim for leadership that is correct all the time?

[Sly21C]

I do agree on one thing with Vavi that Mandela was intolerant of the older leaders of the ANC when he was still young, but Mandela respected them and he was educated. Mandela didn't insult and disrespected the older leaders and he educated himself when he was young and he didn't fail (woodwork, lol) like Malema, he even read books and taught himself Afrikaans when he was locked up inside prison, while I doubt if Malema has read at least one book since he became leader of the ANC youth League. But I vehemently disagree with Vavi that Malema will be an icon once he is older like Mandela is an icon.

[blunomore]

Nelson Mandela is a highly intelligent, highly educated man who practised as a lawyer.

Malema barely scraped through high school.

No comparison.

[PostmanPot]

In that case lets lock him up for 25 years.

Rofl.

[Slaine73]

Bloody hell that is just an insult to Mandela.

[Solidus]

I almost sprayed my coffee all over monitor reading this thread title.
What an utterly stupid comparison.

[Devill]

"Who knows, the Julius Malema that is being condemned now may just grow up and become the icon of the world going forward," he said.

If he ever grows up I doubt it will be into the same mould as someone like Mandela.

Also Medela had much better reason to be "militant", where now that the struggle has been won there is no reason to be "militant". The country now needs people who can lead and who can reach beyond cultural differences.

[LiamRG]

I once read on this on a one of those fortune cookies:-

its better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than it is to open it and remove all doubt.

Malema compared to Mandela is an insult. If Malema wants to accept this comparison, then by all means he can but he really should be locked up for 25 years and do hard labour.

If he can emerge an educated man who speaks sense then he has earned my respect.

[Kim_Webchick]

Nelson Mandela is a highly intelligent, highly educated man who practised as a lawyer.

Malema barely scraped through high school.

No comparison.

I have to agree with you blunomore there is no comparison

[NameOfBeast]

Vavi is a fool. By the time he was Malema's age, Nelson Mandela was a qualified lawyer, and had set up (with Walter Sisulu) a law practice, in fact the first black law practice in SA. Compared to....

The comparison is sickening.

[Alan]

Malema doesn't need to blow hot air up the backside of the lemmings like Madiba did.

For me I won't judge until Malema actually gets into power. Over a 100 000 innocent crime victims dead, Billions of rands wasted on high tech weaponry we don't need and a cabinet full of corrupt/aids denialists like Mbeki and Zuma is a record that surely is easy to beat. But still IMO that is asking too much of Malema.

[Chris]

Although like Alan I haven't been a great fan of Mandela (like honestly what did he to during his presidency that was so amazing?), I still think there is no way that Malema could ever reach the perceived heights that Mandela did. Malema is too much of a motor-mouth to become president anyway...