Malema urges youth action at funeral of 10 EFF members killed in bus crash

By Johnathan Paoli

EFF leader Julius Malema has called on the youth of South Africa to channel grief into revolutionary action, in the struggle for justice, transformation and economic freedom for the poor and marginalised.

Speaking during a mass funeral service, held at Cecil Emmett Hall in Vryheid, for what the party has called the “June 16 Battalion”, Malema described it as not merely a traffic tragedy, but a symbol of broader systemic failures.

“We must stop normalising premature death in Black communities. These young people were not born to die in road accidents. They were born to build, to create and to lead,” he said.

The 10 deceased, all young activists returning from Durban’s Youth Day rally last week, lost their lives when the bus carrying them collided with a truck on the R34 near Ulundi in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

At least 30 other passengers sustained injuries in the horrific incident.

Malema