Malema under microscope: book probes money, politics

A NEW book, Malema: Money. Power. Patronage., is set to be published on Friday.

- LUTHO PASIYA

It exposes the financial dealings of Julius Malema, one of South Africa's most controversial political figures.

Investigative journalists Micah Reddy and Pauli van Wyk stress that the book is not a biography, but an account of his money.

Malema: Money. Power. Patronage. traces how Malema built a financial fiefdom and exposes the methods he used to shield his operations from scrutiny.

“This book shows how, over the years, Malema has refined his modus operandi, making it difficult for the justice system to hold him accountable,’ Reddy and Van Wyk wrote.

“It also tells a bigger story: about the insidious ways money courses through South African politics and how self-styled radical leaders exploit valid grievances about inequality to enrich themselves, stealing from the very people they claim to fight for”

In the book, Reddy and Van Wyk uncover long-forgotten scandals in Limpopo, where Malema and his associates manipulated systems for personal gain. The book also details how loot from VBS Bank ended up in the hands of Malema and his deputy, Floyd Shivambu.

“But it also tells a bigger story: about the insidious ways in which money courses through South African politics and how self-styled radical leaders exploit valid grievances about inequality to enrich themselves, stealing from the very people they claim to fight for,” they highlighted.