---
title: "Grinch of the Year: Julius Malema"
description: "Known for his red beret and red rage, the EFF leader loves a stage. Give him a podium, give him a mic, and who knows where next disaster will strike."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "PEOPLE OF THE YEAR 2023"
author: "Here Tic"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/heretic/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-12-24-grinch-of-the-year-julius-malema/"
published: "2023-12-24T11:00:46"
updated: "2023-12-24T10:48:36"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 429
---

# Grinch of the Year: Julius Malema

> Known for his red beret and red rage, the EFF leader loves a stage. Give him a podium, give him a mic, and who knows where next disaster will strike.

By Here Tic · Published 24 December 2023, 13:00 SAST · Updated 24 December 2023, 12:48 SAST

## Key points
- From tin-pot tyrant to cheer-sucker, Julius Malema's grinch-like appeal was a reminder of the choices we all make each day.
- South Africans yearned for a pause from the Big Men of politics
- Julius Malema’s attention-seeking stunt at SONA was met with little support
- He called for a rebellion against President Ramaphosa in May
- In July, he sacked 210 of his own, and attacked judges and peers in his party

## Content

*All we the people yearned for a pause,**From the Big Men of blah blah blah’s cause.**Jacob-the-Victim, shedding buckets of tears,**Filling his fire pool, yearning for his Umshini Wami yesteryears*

*Cyril the faint-hearted, in a puzzling trance,**Millions of dollars found in his sofa by chance**But the joy-sucking Commissar takes the cake**With his fiery red beret, and his words of hate.*

*In February he began with a stunt,**Storming the stage at the Sona, wyd kant.**Desperate for relevance, he used red rage to show his rise as the King of Woke.**Sadly we saw it for what it was: an attention-seeking joke.*

*But Julius, undeterred by facts or reason,**Ordered a shutdown, a rebellious season.**March 20th it was, with a goal quite dramatic,**To oust President Ramaphosa, a plan erratic.**Yet, how embarrassing, when none joined his chorus,**His call for rebellion went unnoticed by us.*

*In May, with a claim, hysterically bold,**He predicted a grid collapse, a story untold.**And who to save us? Oh, the irony’s rich!**Molefe and Koko, both accused in a glitch.**Part of a scandal, a corruption case vast,**Yet Malema saw them as saviours, unsurpassed.*

*Come July, in a move of power and might,**Malema confirmed a decision, under the spotlight.**Two hundred and ten of his own, shown the door,**For failing in tasks, they were part of no more.**Yet he, in his glory, on a podium raised,**Confetti around, as if he should be praised.**A messiah, a saviour, in his own fancied dream,**But to the onlookers, it was a cringe-worthy scene.*

*Attacking judges, threatening peers in his party,**Praising a tycoon, his actions not hearty.**But the grinchiest moment, oh, it takes the cake,**Was his call against the Springboks, a shocking mistake.**Claiming they stood for supremacy, white and stark,**His words, not just harsh, but missing the mark.*

*So here stands Malema, in this tale quite real,**A tin-pot tyrant, with a grinch-like appeal.**A cheer-sucker, a limelight seeker, in actions and voice,**In a world needing unity, he made a divisive choice.*

*Thus ends our story, in Seussian rhyme,**Of Julius Malema, in 2023’s time.**A character, complex, in South Africa’s vast play,**A reminder of choices we all make each day.***DM**

*By Heretic, with a little help from an AI bot who says she’s resigning from rhyme after this foray into human madness of the South African kind.*

![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/P24-grinch-e1703407552749.jpg)

*This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R29.*

![DM168 front page](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/DM-16122023-001-1.jpg)

![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/POTY-Front-Cover2-1.jpg)