Jeffreys Bay EFF member: ‘We fight white supremacy, not white people’

EFF member in Jeffreys Bay rejects claims the party hates white people

Christiaan Hendrik Nicolaas Carstens, a 25-year-old EFF organiser in Jeffreys Bay, says the party targets white supremacy and white monopoly capital, not white South Africans.

Who he is and where he operates

Carstens is involved in political education and recruitment for the EFF in the Kouga and Kou-Kamma regions of the Eastern Cape. He told IOL he joined the party about two years ago and was later co-opted to the EFF’s Eastern Cape Provincial Command Team during 2025 and elected to the Kouga/Koukamma Sub-region Command Team.

On accusations of racism and violent rhetoric

Responding to claims that the EFF and its leader Julius Malema hates white people, Carstens said such allegations are a misconception.

“The EFF is not against white people, but rather against white supremacy and white monopoly capital,” he said.

He described struggle-era chants such as “Kill the Boer” as a metaphorical struggle song linked to colonialism and capitalism. The article notes a 2022 Equality Court ruling that found the chant does not amount to hate speech when considered in its historical and political context.

Personal experience since joining the EFF

Carstens said he has faced bullying since joining the party, largely from fellow white people who could not accept a young white person joining the EFF. He told IOL the harassment included “online harassment, threats of bodily harm and death threats directed towards my loved ones and myself.”

He also said he had been threatened with a gun and assaulted on the street twice by the same person.

Background and political journey

Carstens said he grew up in Jeffreys Bay in a middle-class household interested in history, politics and culture. He studied at Nelson Mandela University, obtaining a BA Honours degree in Political and Conflict Studies.

His political involvement began with the ANC and the South African Communist Party, which he left because he believed a party of the working class should be independent in practice and theory. He said he found the EFF’s approach more aligned with socialist economic ideas he supports.

Work on the ground

Carstens described the EFF’s “information tables” set up after the 2024 elections, where members recruited and discussed party policy and distributed cards with emergency numbers including the police, an anti-gender based violence helpline and the National Sea Rescue Institute in Jeffreys Bay.

He said his proudest moments include helping to pioneer those tables and his subsequent roles in regional command structures. He is currently active in Ward 2, which covers areas including Pellsrus, Madiba Bay and Aston Bay in Jeffreys Bay.

Local priorities

Carstens said the biggest problems facing Kouga and the country are poverty, unemployment and drug abuse. He said he wants to see industrialisation, job creation and increased state capacity instead of reliance on private tenders for development.

On youth engagement, he urged young South Africans to speak openly about the change they want, saying party affiliation matters less than commitment to socio-economic development.

Personal life

Outside politics, Carstens said he enjoys philosophy, films and spending time with a small circle of friends, though he rarely fully switches off from political matters.