Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said that those who said South Africa first were no different from US President Donald Trump, who says America first.
Malema addressed an EFF march in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the US and around the world.
He said that African countries must unite for the continent to be better than America and China.
Malema said that Africa must stop outside interference to end its exploitation.
“That’s how white supremacists behave. They think they control how you breathe, how you walk, how you say things and if it’s not in line with what they want, they will now crush you.”
He warned former Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba and others who wanted to separate South Africa from the rest of the continent that it was dangerous.
“You come and say ‘black lives matter’ but you support the border. You don’t like imperialism, you don’t like colonialism but you support the border. The border was created by colonisers, the border was created by imperialists yet you claim to be progressive, yet you wake up without land, without jobs but with free data. South Africa first.”
Using the phrase now synonymous with the George Floyd protests, Malema said that America and other world powers must remove their knees from Africa’s neck so that the continent could breathe.