South African President Zuma accused of being afraid of whites

Radical South African lawmaker Julius Malema delivered a blistering attack on President Jacob Zuma in his maiden address to parliament yesterday, accusing him of being "extremely scared of white people".

Dressed in red overalls and Wellington boots, Malema called on the president to seize white-owned land without compensation, nationalise the mines and banks and tear down statues of white colonisers.

"You lack courage and have sold out the revolution," the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) told a stony-faced Zuma in his response to the president's state of the nation address on Tuesday.

Malema has explained previously that he and his lawmakers wear the Wellington boots favoured by many workers to prove they represent the poor.

Malema formed the EFF last year after being thrown out as youth leader of Zuma's ruling African National Congress, and led his party to win 25 parliamentary seats in elections last month.

His direct verbal attack on Zuma, 72, and several of his cabinet colleagues, caused uproar and he was repeatedly called to order.