‘Kimberley’s diamonds built wealth, but not for its people’: Malema

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has used Kimberley’s history as a diamond-mining centre to argue that the Northern Cape’s mineral wealth has not benefited its people.

The ownership of the province’s mineral resources was among the issues that Malema touched on at the launch of the EFF’s Northern Cape manifesto.

He says the province’s diamonds, manganese and other minerals should belong to the people.

Supporters and members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the Northern Cape are awaiting the leader of the party, Julius Malema, to address them on the parties 2026 Local Government Elections Manifesto. Malema is expected to address members and supporters in Lerato Park,… pic.twitter.com/McWZ6Lv2PS

— SABC News (@SABCNews) September 12, 2026

“Kimberley, the place of diamonds. Kimberley, a symbol of exploitation.  Let the struggle for economic freedom start here and spread all over South Africa. Economic freedom has arrived in Kimberley and in the Northern Cape. In this province, that manganese belongs to us, the diamond belongs to us, all the minerals here belong to us; this is our land. They found everything here, and that thing belongs to us.”