White farmers in South Africa will have their property seized under a new law backed by Julius Malema, the revolutionary socialist leader of the country's opposition party who once chillingly declared he was "not calling for the slaughter of white people — at least for now."
On Tuesday, the National Assembly of South Africa voted 241-83 in favor amending the Constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation.
The vote will now be studied by the nation's Constitutional Review Committee which must report back with its recommendation by Aug. 30.
"The time for reconciliation is over. Now is the time for justice," Malema, president of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), said in his embrace of the seizure of land, according to News 24.
"We must ensure that we restore the dignity of our people without compensating the criminals who stole our land."
Malema insisted he did not seek revenge on white people, but only a restoration of black people's dignity in the once-segregated country that maintained an all-white government under apartheid from 1948 and 1991.
But in July 2016, according to The Citizen newspaper, Malema told supporters: "We are not calling for the slaughter of white people‚ at least for now. The rightful owners of the land are black people. No white person is a rightful owner of the land here in SA and the whole of the African continent."
He added, "We will not chase white people to the sea. We will give them [a] portion. We will share the land piece-by-piece. And you can't own bigger than us … you are a visitor. Visitors must behave. They must know that the land belongs to people of South Africa … indigenous people of South Africa."
According to Bloomberg, white farmers now control 72 percent of South Africa's crop-rich land, compared with the 85 percent who did when apartheid was ended.
Those opposing the motion to seize land include the Democratic Alliance‚ the Congress of the People‚ the African Christian Democratic Party and the Freedom Front Plus.
A similar motion brought by the EFF in March 2017 but was defeated 261-33.
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