The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) turns four on Wednesday and it is taking its birthday celebrations to Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

The red berets are led by firebrand politician, Julius Malema, a former ANC Youth League (ANCYL) expelled by the governing party along with then spokesperson Floyd Shivambu.

The party was formed at a gathering attended by over 1 000 delegates in Soweto in July 2013. The EFF’s main aim is to fight for the economic emancipation of the country’s majority and the expropriation of land without compensation.

Malema arrived in Durban this week to mobilise for the birthday celebrations to be held at Curries Fountain on Saturday. On Tuesday, Malema addressed students at University of KwaZulu-Natal Westville campus and a community gathering in Claremont.

A year after its formation, the  EFF went on to win 6 percent of the national vote in the 2014 general elections and has 25 MPs representing it in Parliament and others in provincial legislatures and municipalities.

Red berets have become synonymous with the EFF whose MPs favour donning working-class attire such as overalls, hard hats and pinafores, shunning Parliament’s formal dress code worn by other political representatives.

The EFF had argued before the rules committee that it  was given a mandate by over one million voters to wear clothes representing the working class.

Following last year’s highly contested local elections, the party emerged as the kingmaker, helping the Democratic Alliance (DA) to unseat the ANC in three metros – Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay, in the Eastern Cape.

EFF was at the forefront of a campaign by opposition parties to get President Jacob Zuma to pay back some of the money spent on his Nkandla home security upgrades.

The matter came to a climax when the Constitutional Court ruled last year that Zuma had failed to respect and uphold the Constitution, and that the National Assembly complacent in holding him accountable.

The court instructed the Treasury to determine the amount that Zuma should pay back into state coffers. The president had previously refused to pay, arguing that former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s recommendations contained in her Nkandla report were merely recommendations and not binding.

Malema has had his court battles lodged by the South African Revenue Services (Sars) over unpaid taxes and failure to register his Ratanang Family Trust for tax purposes.

Subsequently, the revenue collector attached some of Malema’s properties, including a farm in Limpopo and a house that was still under construction in Johannesburg, to recoup millions in taxes.

The EFF leader accuses Sars of pursuing a “politically motivated” case against him. Malema insists that he has honoured an agreement with the revenue services to pay back outstanding taxes.

The case is yet to be concluded.