South Africa’s firebrand opposition politician Julius Malema has called for his country’s pullout from the Commonwealth.
The leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party said the 53-member body is “presided over by the colonizer” and to respect the Commonwealth “perpetuates white supremacy”.
“The commonwealth is presided over by the colonizer and we reject that. That type of respect that we give to the colonizer is the one that perpetuates white supremacy,” a Tweet from the official EFF handle quoted Malema.
The Commonwealth was founded in 1931, and is headed by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. Her son Prince Charles has been lined up as her successor.
Malema also said that South African judges should stop wearing judicial wigs, which he sees as a colonial relic.
His comments came despite the fact that after the end of apartheid, South Africa scrapped the requirement that judges wear wigs.
#EFFMediaBriefing Malema: We have nothing to say about that colonizer May. Actually, the policy of the EFF is for South Africa to pull out of the commonwealth.
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) August 28, 2018
