Keypoints:
- Julius Malema’s remarks reflected wider frustrations over inequality and land
- The recent Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi exposed rising distrust of post-colonial systems
- Young Africans increasingly want economic justice alongside political freedom
A HEATED exchange involving Julius Malema recently drew attention across social media and political circles in South Africa. What initially appeared to be another viral confrontation quickly evolved into something much deeper — a window into Africa’s growing frustration with post-colonial power structures.
During the discussion, a podcaster accused the Economic Freedom Fighters of promoting violence against white farmers and asked whether the party had a ‘plan’ to kill them. Malema dismissed the allegation forcefully, responding: ‘There’s a difference between a song and a policy.’
That line captured the essence of the wider debate now unfolding not only in South Africa but across much of Africa itself.
For many younger Africans, the issue is no longer simply political freedom. It is whether independence meaningfully changed who controls land, wealth, resources and economic opportunity.
Malema’s argument was about unfinished liberation
Malema repeatedly insisted that South Africa’s democratic transition in 1994 did not complete the liberation struggle.
‘The struggle has not been won.’
‘Economic power must be shared,’ he argued.
To critics, the EFF leader’s rhetoric remains confrontational and divisive. To supporters, however, his message reflects the frustration of millions who feel excluded from meaningful economic participation despite living in a formally democratic state.
South Africa remains one of the world’s most unequal major economies, according to World Bank inequality measures. Land ownership patterns still reflect colonial and apartheid-era dispossession, while youth unemployment remains persistently severe. Africa Briefing previously examined these tensions in its analysis of South Africa’s land seizure law battle, which highlighted how redistribution debates continue to divide the country politically and economically.
This explains why liberation-era political language continues resonating with younger voters.
When challenged over accusations that the EFF wanted to harm white farmers, Malema attempted to redirect the discussion away from race and towards structural inequality. ‘White farmers have a place here,’ he said, before adding: ‘If you want to kill a farmer, start with me.’
The statement was designed to challenge the perception that land reform debates are inherently calls for racial violence.
Whether one agrees with his politics or not, Malema’s popularity reflects a broader continental trend: younger Africans increasingly questioning whether post-independence political settlements delivered genuine economic justice.
Nairobi summit exposed deeper continental tensions
That same frustration was visible during the recent Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, attended by Emmanuel Macron and several African heads of state including host President William Ruto, where speakers openly challenged the nature of modern Africa-France relations.
Across the Sahel and parts of Francophone Africa, anti-France sentiment has intensified over recent years as younger Africans question what many view as lingering forms of political, military and economic dominance commonly described as ‘Françafrique’.
Africa Briefing previously explored this geopolitical shift in France out. Africa moves on, which examined the symbolic collapse of Paris’ long-standing military influence in parts of West Africa.
During the Nairobi summit, one speaker posed a striking question:
‘How can you trust the source of your pain when the source doesn’t acknowledge it?’
The remark captured a growing perception among many Africans that European powers continue to underestimate the emotional and political legacy of colonialism.
The speaker continued: ‘The current relationship is imbalanced. It’s not collaborative and in some instances it’s exploitative.’
That criticism reflects wider concerns that African states remain economically dependent within systems established during the colonial period, even decades after formal independence.
Colonial memory remains politically powerful
The political significance of these debates lies in the fact that colonial history is no longer being treated solely as the past.
For many Africans, colonialism’s consequences are visible in present-day inequalities, governance structures, trade relationships and patterns of foreign influence.
This is especially important for younger generations who face unemployment, rising living costs and limited economic mobility despite living in resource-rich countries.
At the Nairobi summit, one speaker argued that France remained associated with exploitative dominance and unresolved racial tensions whilst simultaneously presenting itself as a defender of democracy and human rights.
Such statements may sound confrontational, but they resonate because they connect historical grievances to current economic frustrations.
Africa Briefing analysed this changing continental mood in France’s weakening grip on Africa, highlighting how younger Africans increasingly associate sovereignty with economic autonomy rather than formal political independence alone.
Africa’s political language is changing
The rise of anti-establishment political movements across Africa reflects this changing mood.
In South Africa, that frustration strengthens support for parties like the EFF. In countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, it has fuelled hostility towards France and traditional Western alliances.
Importantly, this does not necessarily mean African youth reject international partnerships altogether. Rather, many are demanding relationships based on greater equality, transparency and mutual respect.
The emotional core of these movements is remarkably similar across borders: dignity, ownership and economic agency.
Social media platforms, podcasts and pan-African digital spaces have accelerated the spread of these conversations beyond national borders, allowing younger Africans to connect local frustrations to broader continental debates.
That is why discussions about land in South Africa and debates about French influence in the Sahel increasingly sound connected.
Both revolve around the same unresolved question: who truly benefits from Africa’s wealth?
The danger of turning frustration into division
There is also a growing risk that legitimate demands for justice become consumed by polarisation and simplistic narratives.
Claims of ‘white genocide’ in South Africa, for example, remain politically charged and deeply contested. Farm attacks are real crimes that have traumatised communities, but there is no evidence of a state-backed extermination campaign against white South Africans. Africa Briefing explored the legal and political dimensions of that debate its coverage of a South African court ruling rejecting ‘white genocide’ claims.
Likewise, anti-Western rhetoric can sometimes oversimplify highly complex economic and political relationships.
Similar accusations against France’s role in the Sahel surfaced in Africa Briefing’s recent analysis on Niger-France tensions, where officials accused Paris of perpetuating destabilising post-colonial dynamics.
Africa’s challenge is not merely rejecting old systems. It is building fairer and more accountable alternatives without reproducing corruption, authoritarianism or exclusion under different banners.
A continent demanding more than independence
Political independence alone no longer satisfies a rising generation of Africans.
Young Africans are demanding economic dignity alongside political freedom.
That is why Malema’s declaration that ‘the struggle has not been won’ continues resonating far beyond South Africa. It speaks to a broader continental mood — one increasingly impatient with systems perceived to preserve inequality decades after colonial rule officially ended.
A new political vocabulary of sovereignty, dignity and economic justice is emerging across Africa.
And whether in South Africa’s land debate or growing anti-France sentiment voiced during the recent Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, the message from many younger Africans is becoming impossible to ignore: liberation without economic justice feels incomplete.
The governments and foreign powers that fail to recognise this shift may increasingly find themselves disconnected from the political mood shaping Africa’s future.
