South Africa’s opposition figure Julius Malema has said President Cyril Ramaphosa will be held personally responsible for coronavirus-related deaths following his decision to reopen the economy.

Mr Malema on Tuesday accused the president of being an “ally of white monopoly capital” in a speech during virtual celebrations of South Africa’s Youth Day.

Julius Malema: “We have warned Cyril Ramaphosa, who has constituted himself as an ally of white-monopoly capital and the coronavirus, that he will be held personally responsible for the loss of life that is going to happen as a result of his decisions,”

“We want to warn Ramaphosa and all his accomplices that the mass deaths we are to witness over the coming weeks are due to his lack of decisiveness at a time when the country needed leadership.”

“To make matters worse, the President of the country has allowed the sale of alcohol in a country that has a history of high fatalities and hospitalisation due to alcohol-related inter-personal violence,” Malema said.

As of Monday, there were 3 495 new Covid-19 cases bringing the total infections to 73 533. A total of 1 568 people have died due to Covid-19 complications.