'Black people are still in chains': Mayibuye Mandela joins EFF

Mayibuye Mandela, great-grandson of former president Nelson Mandela, has joined the EFF.

This decision marks a departure from his previous non-partisan stance as Mayibuye had never been affiliated to any political party.

Speaking to TimesLIVE , Mandela said his decision to join the EFF was influenced by the party's policies, including those related to expropriation of land without compensation for equal redistribution and free quality education, healthcare, housing and sanitation.

“I have joined the EFF because South Africa needs a radical shift — not empty promises and tired slogans. We cannot continue to live under a system that prioritises the interests of a few while the black majority remains landless, poor and economically enslaved,” he said.

“I chose the EFF because it is the only movement that speaks directly to the lived reality of the masses. Political freedom without economic freedom is a lie. The EFF is the only movement with a clear plan to dismantle the economic oppression that still keeps black people in chains.”

He will join the Qunu branch of the EFF but will be mostly active in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng.

“Every time I step into places such as Alexandra, Khayelitsha and countless other townships across South Africa, a part of me dies. Our people are still living in conditions unfit for human beings — subhuman existence in the land of their ancestors.

“These are not homes — they are prisons of poverty, designed to keep black people in suffering while a privileged few live in excess. I refuse to accept this as normal.”

Mandela's decision to join the EFF is also motivated by his disillusionment with the ANC, the party his great-grandfather once led. Despite 30 years of democracy, Mandela believes the ANC has become a “barrier to true freedom”.

“Nelson Mandela once warned, 'If the ANC does to you what the apartheid government did to you, then you must do to the ANC what you did to the apartheid government'. The harsh reality is black South Africans remain oppressed — just under a new system that still serves the elite.”

He said his decision to join the EFF was made without any promises of positions or financial incentives.

“I joined the EFF of my own free will and I make this choice proudly, knowing I am exercising my freedom of choice. I want to make it clear: I am not dragging the Mandela name through the mud. I am simply living my truth and practising the freedom to decide my own path.

“I grew up in the swimming pool of the ANC and saw first-hand what it means to be part of the struggle. The ANC shaped who I am and I acknowledge the role it played in my development. However, I can no longer sit by as the ANC fails to deliver the change we need. I am ready to stand with the EFF in this battle for true liberation.”

TimesLIVE