By localnew 
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has issued a stark warning about the future of the African National Congress (ANC), cautioning that the governing party risks losing control of its leadership if urgent and decisive intervention is not made.
Speaking during a recent political engagement, Malema said the ANC is facing an internal crisis marked by factionalism, declining public trust and weakening organisational discipline. He argued that unless the party confronts these challenges head-on, it could soon find itself led by individuals who do not represent its traditional values or historical mission.
Malema warned that the ANC’s continued electoral decline and internal instability could open the door for a president emerging from factions aligned with external interests or former rivals. He suggested that such a scenario would fundamentally alter the character of the party and further distance it from the aspirations of ordinary South Africans.
“The ANC is collapsing from within,” Malema said, adding that failure to correct course would result in leadership that reflects desperation rather than principled struggle politics. According to him, the party’s leadership contests are increasingly driven by power and access to state resources, rather than ideology or service to the people.
The EFF leader also linked the ANC’s leadership woes to broader governance failures, including corruption, unemployment and poor service delivery. He claimed that unless the ANC undergoes serious self-correction, voters will continue to abandon it, weakening its mandate and credibility.
Malema’s comments come at a time when the ANC is under intense pressure following recent election setbacks and growing competition from newer political formations. With internal debates already intensifying ahead of the party’s next national conference, his remarks are likely to fuel further discussion about who could lead the ANC in the future.
While the ANC has not formally responded to Malema’s warning, political analysts note that his comments reflect a wider concern within South Africa’s political landscape: that the country’s oldest liberation movement is at a crossroads, and its next leadership choice could determine whether it stabilises—or declines further.