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Malema's praise for Mugabe sickening – MDC

Cape Town – Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan Tsvangirai has reportedly criticised Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema for praising President Robert Mugabe.

Malema made headlines last week when he told journalists at a press conference in Johannesburg that the problems in Zimbabwe were not caused by Mugabe but by "capital".

"President Mugabe is the only leader who knows for the real change to come, Africans will have to go through the necessary pain, exactly what Zimbabweans are going through now," he was quoted as saying.

Malema also said that Mugabe remained a true revolutionary "as he continues to lead a party that advocates for very radical economic policies in Zimbabwe".

Watch the video below as Malema speaks.

But the MDC rubbished Malema’s utterances, with party spokesperson Obert Gutu saying the EFF leader had "taken leave of his senses".

According to the Daily News, Gutu branded Malema as a man of "unsound mind".

"Julius Malema must have taken leave of his senses. Whatever he is smoking is certainly playing havoc with his mental faculties. For anyone to suggest that Robert Mugabe is not to blame for the problems in Zimbabwe, that person would be clearly of unsound mind," Gutu was quoted as saying.

Another MDC faction led by Welshman Ncube also laid into Malema, with the secretary for international relations, Kurauone Chihwayi, saying his statements were sickening.

A New Zimbabwe.com report quoted Chihwayi as saying that Malema’s remarks "betray a serious lack of understanding of the Zimbabwean situation or a deep hatred for the people of Zimbabwe".

Land reform system

Chihwayi said it was "baffling" for Malema to defend Mugabe when he and his Zanu-PF party had presided over the suffering of Zimbabweans through the mismanagement of the country over the past 35 years.

This was not the first time that Malema praised Mugabe. In 2014 Malema defended Mugabe's "controversial" land reform programme, saying South Africa "must learn" from the southern African country.

Malema at the time showered Mugabe with praise, saying there was no land reform system that had worked successfully for Africa other than Zimbabwe's land reform programme.

Malema said the Zimbabwean policy on land reform was a lesson to be learnt from and to be implemented in South Africa, "except the initial violent method of attacking white people or attacking each other".

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