EFF leader Julius Malema has renewed calls for Mbuyiseni Ndlozi to return to the Economic Freedom Fighters, even as party leaders deny any active talks
Image: Itumeleng English/Independent Newspapers
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, has reiterated that former party heavyweight Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi would be welcome to return to the party.
“Mbuyiseni Ndlozi never resigned… He took a political T-shirt of another party, and the only thing that stops a person from coming back to the EFF is when you take up membership or a T-shirt of another political party,” Malema said.
“So if he comes back to the EFF and you stop him, which laws or sections of the EFF constitution will you use?” he added.
Malema made the remarks during an interview on The Clement Manyathela Show on Radio 702 on Thursday.
He was responding to a question about whether the door remains open for Ndlozi.
Ndlozi resigned from the EFF in February 2025 after months of internal tensions, suspensions and allegations of disloyalty.
He later said he had been barred from party activities six weeks before the party’s December 2024 national elective conference, amid claims he was part of an alleged “infiltration strategy” linked to the MK Party.
The fallout centred on his failure to inform Malema about former EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu’s intention to defect to the MK Party.
Shivambu was fired from the MK Party and launched his own political organisation, the Afrika Mayibuye Movement.
Ndlozi denied the accusations, saying it was not his role to “gossip” or act as an internal informant.
After leaving the EFF, Ndlozi joined Power FM as a talk show host but left the station last month.
Last month, Malema publicly signalled that Ndlozi would be welcomed back, months after his dramatic exit.
However, EFF secretary-general Marshall Dlamini last week dismissed claims that the party is in talks with Ndlozi, following speculation he could return as its mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg.
Dlamini was speaking ahead of the party’s planned launch of its mass voter registration campaign, part of a nationwide effort to mobilise eligible voters ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
The launch took place on March 12, at the party’s headquarters in Marshalltown, Johannesburg.
With elections approaching, political parties have begun announcing mayoral candidates for key municipalities, particularly in Gauteng, where the City of Johannesburg, the City of Ekurhuleni and the City of Tshwane are expected to be highly contested.
Opposition parties, including the Democratic Alliance and ActionSA, have intensified their campaigns.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has been confirmed as the party’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, having previously served in the role from August 2016 to November 2019.
So far, three candidates have been publicly declared in the Johannesburg race: Mashaba; Helen Zille, federal council chairperson of the Democratic Alliance; and Patriotic Alliance’s (PA) Kenny Kunene, the city’s MMC for transport.
Speaking to SABC News, Dlamini said the EFF has never previously fielded mayoral candidates since its formation in 2013.
“This will be the first time we are fielding mayoral candidates,” he said.
Addressing speculation about Ndlozi’s return, Dlamini added: “There is no such thing. There are no discussions like that.”
Despite reports suggesting a loss of talent within the party, Dlamini rejected the claim.
“If you look at the EFF in the National Assembly, the Bills currently before Parliament are being handled by current members,” he said.
“We have never been an organisation obsessed with status. We work as members of the EFF. The EFF has always had quality.”
He said the party remains focused on its own programme.
“Even when other parties announce candidates, we do not panic. We are not driven by what is fashionable. We follow the EFF programme and take full responsibility for it,” Dlamini said.
IOL Politics