WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged between EFF leader Julius Malema and Major General Feroz Khan have been exposed, and the political fallout is already burning through Johannesburg like veld fire in August.
Khan holds a senior rank inside the South African Police Service. For a politician who has built his brand on fighting the establishment, being caught in private communication with a top cop raises questions no EFF press statement can easily answer.
The contents of the alleged chats have not been fully confirmed, but sources close to the matter say the exchanges go beyond a casual greeting. They reportedly touch on matters of policing and political positioning — details that, if verified, could fundamentally change how the party’s base reads Malema’s public battles with state security.
Timing is everything here. With the 2026 local government elections less than a year away, the EFF was already fighting hard to defend municipal seats from the ANC and MK Party. This revelation drops into that fight like a lit match. Analysts in Pretoria say it shifts the narrative from policy to personal credibility — a much harder battle to win on the campaign trail.
In the townships, reactions are splitting fast. Some long-time EFF members say they feel blindsided — not because Malema spoke to a general, but because he allegedly did it quietly while the party was publicly attacking police brutality. Others argue a leader of his stature must maintain back-channel contacts, and that this is politics, not betrayal. “Every leader talks to people off the record,” one Soweto resident told a community forum. “The question is what he was saying.”