Johannesburg — AfriForum has escalated its campaign against Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, delivering a dossier on his alleged extremist activities to senior officials in the Trump administration.
The organisation, which has lobbied both locally and internationally against Malema for years, confirmed that board member Werner Human personally handed over the document during a recent U.S. visit.
According to AfriForum, the dossier outlines Malema’s alleged incitement of violence, suspected corruption, and ties to extremist rhetoric, providing grounds for potential targeted sanctions or other international consequences.
“Bringing Malema’s extremism to the attention of the Trump administration is one part of a larger international campaign to ensure Malema faces consequences for his incitement of violence and other transgressions that he is currently getting away with in South Africa,” the group said in a statement.
“Die Trump-administrasie het reeds gewys dat hulle @Julius_S_Malema se haatlike, gevaarlike retoriek en gewelddadige dreunsange soos ‘Kill the Boer’ baie kommerwekkend vind. Een van hul eise aan die Suid-Afrikaanse regering, om verhoudings te normaliseer, was om die ‘Kill the… pic.twitter.com/gyMHaAk7kP
— AfriForum (@afriforum) September 25, 2025
EFF hits back: “They want him assassinated”
The EFF has fired back, accusing AfriForum of pursuing darker motives.
Party member Naledi Chirwa took to X, writing: “They want him assassinated.”
Another EFF figure, Babalwa Mathulelwa, described AfriForum’s campaign as part of a broader attempt to suppress Malema’s political influence.
“Evil will never allow their oppressed victims to be freed economically, mentally and generally. So, they are angry at the mission accomplished already and his multiplication,” Mathulelwa said.
AfriForum insists pressure will intensify
AfriForum’s Ernst van Zyl, head of public relations, defended the organisation’s lobbying efforts, saying they reflect growing international concern.
“The Trump administration has already demonstrated that it finds Julius Malema’s hateful, dangerous rhetoric and violent chants such as ‘Kill the Boer’ very concerning,” he said.
“One of its demands to the South African government, in order to normalise relations, has been to condemn the chant, which the South African government has unfortunately refused to do up until this point. AfriForum will ensure that such pressure grows.”
Analysts weigh in
Professor Theo Neethling, of the Department of Political Studies and Governance at the University of the Free State, noted that AfriForum is strategically capitalising on Trump’s outspoken stance on Malema.
“The organisation appears eager to use this as a platform to keep Malema in the political spotlight, particularly for conduct they argue amounts to hate speech,” Neethling said.
“This forms part of a years-long pressure campaign that recently yielded results with the Cape Town Equality Court ruling Malema guilty of hate speech. It seems to me that AfriForum is not only intent on holding Malema accountable domestically but may also be trying to prevent him from making future visits to influential Western countries.”
Background
The dossier follows a string of legal and political battles between AfriForum and the EFF. In August 2024, the Cape Town Equality Court ruled Malema guilty of hate speech for leading the “Kill the Boer” chant, a verdict that AfriForum hailed as a major victory.
With AfriForum now turning its focus to Washington, the battle between the lobby group and Malema has officially gone global.
