Malema on fire after wife was asked to remove fake nail to vote
South African election officials on Wednesday faced politician Julius Malema’s wrath after they asked his wife to cut off her fake nail before voting.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party leader descended on officials at Mponegele Primary School in Seshego for what he termed as a bizarre requirement.
Malema wondered whether election officials will also require women to remove their wigs before voting.
He explained that women’s artificial nails are too costly to be just removed for the purpose of voting. He said the voters mark can be made on any other part of the finger.
His wife Mantwa had accompanied the youthful legislator to the polling station, a role that was previously held by Malema’s late grandmother Sarah who died just days before the election.
“There was some official who said to my wife that she must take out her nail so that they can put a mark. And I found that bizarre because where is that written in the rules that women who have long nails can’t vote?
‘PATRIARCHAL ARRANGEMENT’
“We cannot have such a patriarchal arrangement happening at the voting station. Luckily the electoral officer came and said there is no such a thing, she can vote with her nail. But the person who puts a mark on people has a scissor there and she uses these scissors to take your nails out.
“The next thing they are going to say that women must take out weaves because they want to see if it is them on their IDs. Such nonsensical things, it starts small like that and before you know it, it is something like that is institutionalised. It must be challenged even now,” he told South African journalists shortly after voting.
South Africans went to the polls on Wednesday with the ruling party African National Congress set to battle it out with Democratic Alliance and Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters.