Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has called out the leaked affidavit of VBS's former chair Tshifhiwa Matodzi to be a “sponsored propaganda” aimed at defocusing his party.

Malema was responding to the news, specifically to the DA, that the VBS bank looting scandal was bigger than the Phala Phala saga.

He was also hitting back at allegations made by Matodzi that the EFF leaders had benefited from the VBS money.

Malema was addressing the media at the Good Hope Chambers in Parliament on Thursday.

A leaked affidavit by the bank’s former CEO Matodzi claimed that Shivambu ordered him to make payments via Sgameka, a company owned by Brian Shivambu, a brother of Floyd Shivambu, and that he and Malema accepted illegal benefits.

On Wednesday, the DA leader John Steenhuisen said that the VBS scandal was far worse than Phala Phala.

He added that they won’t support or vote for any motion by the EFF against President Cyril Ramaphosa on the farmgate issue where millions of dollars were reportedly stashed in his furniture.

Steenhuisen also took a swipe at the EFF leaders, saying they used the money for no good reason.

"The money was not spent on social good, projects that would uplift and save the poor, instead it was spent on luxury items, splurges at the Durban July on the campaign, and other luxury goods.

"It shows that the EFF has no intention of being the vanguard of the poor, this is a mask that they use to justify the types of activities that they get up to," he said.

However, responding to this, Malema believes that Ramaphosa pushed the Government of National Unity (GNU) set up so that the DA does not come for him.

He added that it was opportunistic for the DA to say it would not vote with them for Ramaphosa's impeachment because of VBS.

“When we were voting in favour of the Phala Phala impeachment report, the VBS story was there ... There's no new story that is stopping them to vote with the EFF.

“They are using VBS to abandon their own stance for expediency, but equally they are using Phala Phala to hold Ramaphosa accountable because every time he tries to move, they will mention Phala Phala,” he said.

He further vowed to launch a new investigation into the matter, stating that “Phala Phala is not dead”.

“If it means bringing it afresh, where we have to constitute a new panel, to make investigations, we will use the previous panel’s recommendations as evidence to the new one and then come back and vote again.”

Furthermore, he maintained that the GNU will not last longer than expected.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

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