Julius Malema slams EFF delegates for kneeling before him

South African Pan Africanist politician Julius Sello Malema has slammed Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party members for kneeling in front of him during the party's national conference, held in Johannesburg.

According to short video clips posted online, scores of excited delegates marched to the stage in song and knelt before Malema.

As they knelt, they sang “Julius Malema, there is no-one like you” in Sesotho.

“I am not the EFF, neither am I the Holy Spirit. The EFF is not Malema,” the newly re-elected party leader said, adding that, “Those people who came here singing and kneeling here in front of me and the officials,and, then the papers write that Malema is a cult, people are kneeling before him as if I asked you to kneel before me. I never asked you to kneel before me. Don't kneel before me, I don't want that,” said Malema.

Taking the opportunity to take a swipe at party members of parliament who, after getting elected to the National Assembly thanked renowned preacher - Prophet Bushiri- for ‘his prayers,’ Malema insisted that no person should kneel in front of another.

“You do those things of kneeling there before Bushiri because some of you even thank him for taking you to parliament. I’m not your father, Papa Bushiri, I’m not Papa or anyone,” he said.

Read Also: Xenophobic attacks - Yvonne Chaka Chaka's daughter loses 'everything'

Briefing the media after he was re-elected unopposed Malema also lashed out those who call him a dictator, saying that he is just a hard worker.

“My simple thing of being elected and re-elected unopposed every time is very simple: I work very hard. I do not take anything for granted, I pay attention to the smallest detail,” Malema went on.

“I am not a dictator, I am a hard worker. I come from nothing, born from a domestic worker who suffered from epilepsy and I worked my way up here single-handedly, knowing where I come from. So I do not care who thinks what about me.”