The EFF has described the publishing of Malema’s family home address as double standards, as civil organisations and media monitoring bodies have not spoken out about the matter.

JOHANNESBURG - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has strongly criticised the publication of the residential address and images of its leader Julius Malema.

In a statement, the red berets said the images and the details were released by the media.

Eyewitness News reported on Monday that the house is located at a Hyde Park property owned by businessman Adriano Mazzotti.

Mazzotti donated R200,000 to the EFF in 2013 while fellow Carnilinx director Kyle Phillips loaned Malema R1 million to help him settle his tax affairs.

Three security guards and a four-metre high perimeter wall topped with surveillance cameras meets guests at the exclusive Hyde Park estate which only has four houses in it.

Mazzotti has a stake in three of them and also lives in the estate with Malema’s wife, Mantwa, and their children as neighbours.

Malema, who has a state residence in Cape Town, lives at the property when he is in Johannesburg.

Mazzotti has been described as a self-confessed cigarette smuggler and has been accused of evading taxes. He’s consistently denied the allegations and insists that he is fully tax compliant.

The businessman says he won’t hide the fact that he and Malema are friends and he says the politician’s wife pays a market-related rent to live in his property.

Malema declined to answer specific questions, instead all he would say is that he has moved to Cape Town, where he has been given a residence in Goodwood by the state.

The EFF has described the publishing of Malema’s family home as double standards, as civil organisations and media monitoring bodies have not spoken out about the matter.

The party has warned media houses that it will not tolerate what it calls “unethical” and “obsessive” attacks on its leadership.

The party has been under scrutiny after it emerged that senior members may have benefitted from funds looted from the embattled VBS Mutual Bank.

_FOR THE RECORD: Eyewitness News did not publish the address at which Julius Malema and his family live, nor did we publish images of the house. _

(Edited by Shimoney Regter)