Julius Malema’s Lavish Property Empire Exposed in Explosive New Book
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema’s property empire, worth millions of rands, has come under the spotlight once again. A new investigative book reveals how the firebrand politician, who earns just over R1 million a year as a Member of Parliament, has managed to bankroll a life of extraordinary luxury through questionable financial schemes.
Titled Malema: Money. Power. Patronage, the book by investigative journalists Micah Reddy and Pauli van Wyk paints a picture of a man whose declared income does not come close to explaining his assets and lifestyle. The authors trace Malema’s financial dealings over two decades, uncovering how the EFF leader leveraged political connections, slush funds and questionable tenders to build a fortune.
Properties worth far more than declared
Malema’s declared acquisition value for his properties stands at R21.6 million. However, extensive renovations and luxury additions more than double their worth.
His portfolio includes a multi-storey Sandown mansion in Johannesburg – demolished and rebuilt twice – and a luxury lodge in Polokwane fitted with marble and gold trimmings imported from Dubai. A Limpopo smallholding boasts a basketball and tennis court, further illustrating the scale of his spending.
The book shows that at least 10 properties are owned through three trusts and a company, with Malema, his wife Mantoa, and their children as sole beneficiaries. Six appear to be bonded. While Malema declared his links to the trusts in Parliament, the assets they hold were kept secret.
Lifestyle impossible on salary
Malema’s annual pre-tax salary from Parliament stands at R1.27 million in the 2024/25 financial year. Just paying the bonds, rates and taxes on his properties would swallow most of that salary, leaving nothing for his luxury lifestyle.
Yet Malema’s assets include a luxury lodge, Sud Restaurant in Soweto, and a Johannesburg home complete with a cinema. Renovations have been funded with millions of rands – far beyond what his parliamentary pay could allow.
Project Caesar and the SARS battle
The book draws heavily from Project Caesar, the code name used by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) when it pursued Malema in 2012. SARS investigators launched a bid to recover R32.9 million in unpaid taxes and penalties, unearthing evidence that Malema and his Ratanang Family Trust had failed to register as taxpayers for years.
Court papers, sealed for over a decade in the Gauteng High Court under a confidentiality loophole, were finally accessed by the authors. These files reveal how entrepreneurs with government contracts funnelled more than R28 million into Malema’s accounts and slush funds between 2005 and 2012.
Witnesses from On-Point Engineering, a company Malema later admitted to secretly owning, described how the scheme paid for his bodyguards, utility bills, luxury cars, house renovations, and even his child’s school fees. Boxes and envelopes stuffed with cash were also delivered regularly.
The On-Point scandal
In 2009, On-Point Engineering received a corrupt Limpopo government tender. This contract marked a turning point in Malema’s finances, funding his properties and lifestyle while millions more were paid into the Ratanang Family Trust.
Despite strong evidence, Malema’s fraud, racketeering and corruption case was struck off the roll in 2015 after his co-accused fell ill. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has never reinstated the case, despite willing witnesses and reams of evidence.
Malema continues to frame the scrutiny of his finances as political persecution, blaming a vendetta from former president Jacob Zuma. Yet Malema: Money. Power. Patronage suggests the investigations were self-inflicted, rooted in financial misconduct and tax evasion.
Hidden admissions
Among the revelations in the court files is Malema’s own admission to SARS that he pocketed proceeds from the sale of EFF regalia in the party’s early days. This claim directly contradicts his public denials when accusations of dipping into party funds sparked the EFF’s first internal revolt in 2015.
The book further details scandals in the City of Tshwane fuel tender and a Johannesburg fleet-supply contract, where millions in kickbacks ended up funding upgrades at Malema’s Polokwane lodge.
The VBS Mutual Bank scandal
Another key chapter revisits the VBS Mutual Bank collapse, where Malema was accused of benefitting from millions channelled into his accounts and properties. Journalists documented how the money was used to fund renovations at his Sandown mansion and luxury lifestyle.
At the same time, Malema allegedly intervened to suppress uprisings at a Limpopo mine owned by one of his benefactors – contradicting his fiery rhetoric against “white monopoly capital”.
Blueprint for political survival
The book argues that the On-Point scandal became Malema’s blueprint for future schemes: leveraging political influence to generate slush funds, using trusts and companies to disguise assets, and exploiting a justice system unwilling to pursue powerful figures.
While Malema continues to position himself as a champion of the poor, the evidence compiled suggests that his wealth has consistently been built from the proceeds of questionable – and sometimes illegal – financial deals.
For Reddy and Van Wyk, the story of Malema is not only about one politician’s rise to wealth and power. It is also about the state’s failure to hold him accountable, Parliament’s inability to scrutinise his financial disclosures, and the erosion of public trust when leaders enrich themselves while claiming to fight for the landless.
Follow Us on Twitter
