WATCH | Shutdown was an 'overwhelming success' and helped reduce load shedding, Malema insists

• EFF leader Julius Malema says the shutdown was a success and that taxi ranks and shopping centres were "ghost towns".
• He said the EFF had proved naysayers, such as the media and government, wrong.
• President Cyril Ramaphosa lacked "the legitimacy to lead a nation", he added. 

EFF leader Julius Malema has maintained that the shutdown on Monday was an "overwhelming success", again attributing the reduction in load shedding to the protest action, and condemning the deployment of excessive armed forces. 

At a media briefing on Thursday, Malema disputed claims that the nationwide shutdown had been a failure and insisted that taxi ranks and shopping centres were "ghost towns", costing the taxi industry money. 

He added that President Cyril Ramaphosa's "illegitimacy" in leading the nation had contributed to businesses and citizens ignoring his message that Monday was "business as usual" and that they could operate.

Malema credited the reduction in load shedding ahead of the shutdown to significant industries and businesses suspending operations.

In preparation for the long-anticipated protest, R166 million was spent on deploying the South African National Defence Force and police throughout the country.

FACT CHECK | EFF claims its protest the 'most successful shutdown' in SA history

Malema condemned the deployment: "It was not business as usual as the South African National Defence Force and South African police services were deployed in their numbers because the government knew that the national shutdown was a just cause, and they resorted to deploying armed forces to suppress legitimate and peaceful protest."

The shutdown - which focused on load shedding, poor service delivery, and corruption - was launched in various locations throughout the country, including the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Union Buildings, and Parliament. 

Malema said they had proved the government and media wrong, reiterating that the EFF had delivered the "core purpose and message". 

"Excessive fear-mongering by the state and the media, which sought to distort the national shutdown into an activity of violence and chaos, was proven wrong."

He commended the "committed revolutionaries", progressive organisations and unions - such as the SA Federation of Trade Unions, Pan Africanist Congress, and the United Democratic Movement - which participated in the shutdown.