EFF Leader Julius Malema Says His Party Wants a South Africa Without Borders

The leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, said that should his party come to govern South Africa, it will do away with the country's borders. He emphasized that this show of pan-Africanism would aid in eventually putting an end to the xenophobic violence directed to African foreign nationals and foster a sense of unity.

Today, in an interview with political analyst and Radio 702 host Eusebius McKaiser, Malema said:

"Borders will not be there when the EFF is in government...If we speak decolonization of education and other things, that must include the borders...The truth is when we are done fighting the foreigners, there will be a tribal war. There still will not be jobs, you still won't get that woman you want because you will still be afraid to propose."

Malema's comments are in stark contrast to those expressed by the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), as well as the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

In recent times, the ANC has expressed increasingly xenophobic rhetoric under the guise of wanting to "toughen up measures" against undocumented African foreign nationals. Mmusi Maimane, the leader of the DA, has reasoned that the rampant corruption within South Africa and the illegal movement of large sums of money is precisely because of a lack of proper border control.

Last month, South Africa experienced an eruption of xenophobic violence in the city of Durban where Malawians were physically attacked, displaced from their homes and their businesses broken into and looted.