ARRESTING JULIUS MALEMA WITHOUT EXTREME CAUTION COULD BE A DANGEROUS MISTAKE: Why the State Must Handle His Case Carefully to Avoid Unrest Like the Zuma Riots and the Tragic Fallout After Chris Hani’s Assassination
South Africa has painful lessons from history about what happens when the state moves against highly influential political figures without fully preparing for the social consequences.
The arrest of former President Jacob Zuma in 2021 triggered nationwide unrest, looting, destruction of infrastructure and the loss of more than 350 lives. The assassination of Chris Hani in 1993 nearly pushed the country into civil war because of the deep emotional connection he had with the black working class and the youth.
Julius Malema today occupies a similar space in the hearts of millions of young, unemployed and poor South Africans. To many of them, he is not just a politician — he is a voice of anger, frustration and hope in a system they feel has failed them.
Arresting or sentencing Malema without carefully managing the political and social impact could ignite serious instability. His support base is largely made up of young people from townships, informal settlements and rural areas who already feel excluded from the economy and ignored by those in power. Any perception that the state is “targeting” their leader could easily be interpreted as an attack on them as a generation and as a class.
This is not about whether the law must take its course — the law must always apply equally. But history shows that timing, communication and sensitivity matter. A heavy-handed approach could turn court processes into political flashpoints, just as happened with Zuma, and emotional reactions similar to those that followed Chris Hani’s killing could be triggered.
South Africa cannot afford another explosion of violence driven by anger, poverty and political identity. The Malema case must therefore be handled with extreme care, maturity and strategic foresight, because when millions of desperate young people feel their champion is under siege, the streets can become the courtroom — and the consequences can be devastating.