For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Paige Muller.

Making headlines: Malema to visit North West for by-election victory celebration; Amcu shuns Workers' Day, wants new date to coincide with Marikana massacre; And, Blade Nzimande says 'fight back' in KZN is unfortunate

Malema to visit North West for by-election victory celebration

Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema is due to visit Coligny in the North West today to celebrate the party's victory in a by-election.

The EFF's Bongani Cekiso narrowly won the vote in ward 15 under the Ditsobotla local municipality with 36.48 percent of the votes cast. The ruling ANC had previously won with 54.79 percent of the votes in 2016 municipal elections.

Results released by the Electoral Commission showed the EFF received 699 votes this time around, narrowly beating the ANC which had 688. The DA had 374, while Freedom Front Plus garnered 124 and an independent candidate received 32 votes.

The South African National Civic Organisation in North West province said the ANC's poor performance in Coligny must serve as a wake-up call for the ruling party.

Amcu shuns Workers' Day, wants new date to coincide with Marikana massacre

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union yesterday boycotted Workers' Day as part of its protest campaign to have celebrations moved to 16 August to coincide with the Marikana Massacre.

Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa this week said the Marikana massacre represented a unified struggle of all workers in different sectors.

Mathunjwa called for a review of Workers' Day in South Africa, which he said should instead be celebrated on 16 August, the day 34 striking Lonmin mineworkers were shot dead in Marikana by police in 2012. The mineworkers had embarked on a wildcat strike demanding a R12 500 minimum wage. 

A week before the shooting,10 people including two policemen and two Lonmin security guards were murdered as the strike turned violent.

Former North West high ranking policeman Major-General William Mpembe and eight other policemen are facing criminal charges relating to the fatal shootings in Marikana. Their case will be heard in the North West High Court on 18 June.

And, Blade Nzimande says 'fight back' in KZN is unfortunate

South African Communist Party General Secretary Blade Nzimande raised concerns at a Cosatu May Day rally held in Nelson Mandela Bay saying that "fight backs" against State capture in KwaZulu-Natal were unfortunate.

Addressing a packed rally at the Isaac Wolfson Stadium in Kwazakhele yesterday, Nzimande called for workers to stand up against State capture and called for the KwaZulu-Natal province not to be regressive.

Nzimande said that State capture made a fool of South Africa's sovereignty. 

Nzimande said that there would be no victory for socialism if state institutions were stolen. 

He said that with ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa's "new dawn" changes were starting to take effect. 

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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