Mayibuye Mandela, great-grandson of Nelson Mandela, has joined the Economic Freedom Fighters party, citing the need for radical economic transformation in South Africa. The announcement marks a significant break from his family’s historic ties to the African National Congress.

The younger Mandela declared his support for the EFF’s policies on land expropriation without compensation and universal access to education, healthcare, and housing in an interview with TimesLIVE.

“South Africa needs a radical shift — not empty promises and tired slogans,” Mandela said. “We cannot continue to live under a system that prioritises the interests of a few while the black majority remains landless, poor and economically enslaved.”

He will be based primarily in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, while maintaining membership in the EFF’s Qunu branch.

The move represents a direct challenge to the ANC’s legacy, with Mandela claiming the party has become a “barrier to true freedom” after 30 years of democratic rule.

Mandela emphasized his decision was made independently, without promises of positions or financial incentives from the EFF.

The shift comes amid growing criticism of persistent inequality in South Africa, with Mandela describing townships as “prisons of poverty” designed to maintain social disparities.

He cited his great-grandfather’s warning about holding the ANC accountable: “If the ANC does to you what the apartheid government did to you, then you must do to the ANC what you did to the apartheid government.”