Illustrative Image: Floyd Shivambu (Photo by Gallo Images / Sharon Seretlo) | Julius Malema (Photo: Dwayne Senior / Bloomberg) 
EFF leader Julius Malema likened Floyd Shivambu’s resignation to the death of his mother. He added that the EFF’s door would always be open for Shivambu.
“To me he is not just a comrade but a brother and he will remain a brother, even when he pursues his political career differently. We formed this organisation together… When he sent me a letter yesterday I felt the same pain when I received the news of the passing of my mother,” Malema said at a press briefing on Thursday at midday.
“This is a testing moment. An organisation that has lived beyond 10 years has been through a testing moment.”
Read more: The EFF’s Floyd Shivambu as finance minister would ‘really spook the markets’
While Malema’s demeanour was sombre, he said Shivambu would never be an enemy of the party.
The party called a press briefing at its headquarters in Marshalltown on Thursday after reports that Shivambu would be leaving the party. During the briefing Shivambu said his decision to not renew his membership was not a vote of no confidence in the party.
“I request that I be released from all positions that I hold from the EFF. I will always cherish them and I wish them full prosperity and success and members of the EFF student command will accept the decision I have taken,” he said.
Read Richard Poplak’s 2016 take on Shivambu here: Trainspotter - EFF's Floyd Shivambu - the man behind the man
EFF MP Jimmy Manyi has also decided to join the MK party, and Malema believed many others would follow suit.
The MK Party confirmed that Manyi and Shivambu will be join them, “deployed respectively according to their strengths and expertise”. In a statement, it said: “As leadership, we ask that all members of uMkhonto Wesizwe Party welcome these two progressive comrades as they begin to form part of driving the agenda of the revolution. We wish them well as they pick up the spear and continue the fight for the emancipation of the downtrodden and marginalised people in our country.”
The exodus from EFF comes just months after the EFF was dislodged as the third-largest party in the country. The MK party overtook the EFF and is also the official opposition in the National Assembly because of the DA’s decision to join the government of national unity.
The party is also due to elect new leadership in December, and Malema said he would be standing for re-election. It had been expected that Shivambu would contest to be the deputy president yet again, while Mbuyiseni Ndlozi and Marshall Dlamini would go head-to-head for the secretary-general job.
Party insiders have long highlighted the friction between Malema and Shivambu.
Shivambu is the EFF’s first and only deputy president since its formation in 2013, was known as an important figure in shaping the party’s policy, while the popular EFF Student Command was his brainchild. He is also the EFF chief whip in Parliament and is expected to resign from the position.
Last month, Shivambu and Malema were named in an affidavit by former chairman of VBS Mutual Bank Tshifhiwa Matodzi as being “promised” payments from VBS in favour of the EFF. They were allegedly paid off not to use the EFF’s political muscle against VBS.
Read more: Ex-VBS chair lifts the lid on how Malema and Shivambu grabbed R16.1m from dying bank
DM
This is a developing story and will be updated.