The EFF on Tuesday rejected as “laughable” a media report that its leader Julius Malema would return to the ANC.

“We wish to categorically state that this information is not true,” Economic Freedom Fighters’ spokesman Lehlohonolo Fana Mokoena said in a statement.

“The CiC [Commander in Chief] has already responded to the claims that they are laughable.”

The Citizen reported that Malema was in talks with the African National Congress to return to the ruling party.

Malema was expelled from the African National Congress Youth League in 2012. A year later he started the Economic Freedom Fighters.
Earlier on Tuesday, Malema tweeted he would never leave his party.

“I will never do that to my people, the EFF remains my only political home now and for the rest of my life,” Malema said on his Twitter page.
“I will be buried with the red flag.”

The ANC also denied the report.

“There are no discussions between the ANC and Malema,” spokesman Zizi Kodwa said.

He said the ANC would not reject any person wanting to return “home” because it was an organisation of the people. The ANC and EFF dismissed the newspaper’s other claim that EFF MP Magdalene Moonsamy would return to the ANC.

“We are unaware of her return,” said Kodwa.
“If Malema and others want to come back voluntarily, the ANC will always welcome them.”

Mokoena denied reports of a rift between Moonsamy and Malema, and said she had resigned from her parliamentary duties to pursue her law degree.

“She remains the treasurer general of the organisation and a committed Economic Freedom Fighter,” he said.

“She is not at loggerheads with anyone and our movement believes her decision to go attain her professional qualification as an attorney is the correct one.”

Mokoena said the party had no reason to believe that one of its members had made these claims to the media.

“We believe there is no disciplined member of our organisation who would go to the media with such a story without clearing it with the organisation first, or they would at least go to the media with facts.

“We urge our disciplined members not to feed the papers with unfounded statements about our president, leadership and our organisation in general.”

Mokoena said Malema and the EFF would continue to “fulfil our generational mission of economic emancipation”. SAPA