Julius Malema, firebrand leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has broken his silence on the littering saga which played out during protests at the University of the Free State (UFS).

On Monday, video footage detailing inhumane aspects of the protest action found its way onto social media. The protests, emanating, in the case of UFS, from a labour struggle – not independent of the wave of student discontent which has swept over South African universities in recent months – garnered public outrage.

Eckhard Binding fights EFF litterers

This is racism. EFF thou … Im shook

This is wrong

This is abuse #tut #tutstrike @eNCA @SABCNewsOnline #ArrestMampintshaNow #ArrestMampintsha #wodumo #eNCANow #MampintshaMustFall pic.twitter.com/Y7C778MeMW — Nondumiso Gumede (@nonnystoned) March 4, 2019

South Africans, in general, are tired of seeing flames – particularly when it’s learning institutions and structures of progress which bare the brunt of misplaced disgruntlement. The now-viral video struck a South African nerve because it exemplified the intersection of creation and destruction, humility and imprudence, in a nation divided, at least within populist rhetoric, by both.

The student seen picking up litter, only to have that same litter strewn over the campus by peers in red regalia – believed to be members of the EFF Students Command – is Eckhard Binding. So the rubbish saga unfolded; protesters, standing casually, purposefully threw rubbish out of the bins Binding tirelessly attempted to fill. Binding spoke to us about that day, when he decided to be proactive in a silent show of personal force, saying:

“This wasn’t a fun situation, but it was necessary to deal with it. I have to say that I noticed how scared people are to take initiative and get involved because it’s easier to brush it off… like it’s not your problem.”

Even ‘moderate’ EFF members were outraged by the callous actions of their trashy UFS comrades. Public pressure began to mount on Malema. EFF supporters urged their leader to condemn the vile ‘litter abuse’ witnessed at UFS. Malema eventually took to Twitter to break his deafening silence on the matter. His reply, however, has ruffled feathers even further.

Julius Malema says he is ‘proud’

The young man may be too young to realize, but he’s disrupting a protest. Hopefully his insistence on cleaning isn’t driven by his perceptions about or need to defy the protestors. Especially that his view of the world takes a certain status. Did I say it? https://t.co/QnuFCENcul — xhanti (@XhantiPayi) March 5, 2019

We can’t, how do you call workers protest to order. There’s no formula to peaceful protest, the question should be, was it a peaceful protest, and if the answer is yes, we move on. We can’t allow the elite to dictate the form and content of the picket lines. — Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) March 5, 2019

The dialogue began in reply to another Twitter user, Xhanti Payi, who initially said:

“The young man [Binding] may be too young to realize, but he’s disrupting a protest. Hopefully his insistence on cleaning isn’t driven by his perceptions about or need to defy the protestors. Especially that his view of the world takes a certain status. Did I say it?”

Malema, who retweeted the above statement, came under fire from his supporters on social media – with some lambasting him for “justifying inhuman behaviour”, to which the Commander in Chief replied:

“We can’t, how do you call workers protest to order. There’s no formula to peaceful protest, the question should be, was it a peaceful protest, and if the answer is yes, we move on. We can’t allow the elite to dictate the form and content of the picket lines.”

And I’m proud — Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) March 5, 2019

When questioned once more on his controversial views regarding the incident and, more specifically, his role as a leader in times of dissidence, Malema said plainly:

“And I’m proud.”

Malema’s responses were picked about by social media users, with his own supporters pointing out his two-fold failures. Not only did Malema fail to condemn the action undertaken by the UFS protesters in question but, to many, his views on the topic seem to endorse the litter abuse.