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The battle between EFF leader Julius Malema and AfriForum plays out again this week – at the East London Regional Court.
The case against Malema (accused number one) and security officer Adriaan Snyman (accused number two) has been set for the entire week. The trial relates to an incident in 2018 when Malema allegedly fired a rifle during the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane, near East London.
Malema and AfriForum – the complainant in the matter – have also been battling each other over alleged hate speech in the song Dubul’ Ibhunu (Shoot the Boer), which was sung by Malema, his EFF aide Mbuyiseni Ndlozi and party supporters outside the Magistrates’ Court in Senekal, Free State, where the accused murderers of farm manager Brendin Horner were being tried. The battle culminated in a heated exchange between Malema and Advocate Mark Oppenheimer, representing AfriForum, in the Equality Court at the Johannesburg High Court on February 17.
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In the present case in East London, Malema is facing five counts, including unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, discharging of a firearm in a built-up area, failure to take reasonable precaution to persons or property and reckless endangerment of persons or property.
Snyman, the owner of the rifle Malema used, has been charged on two counts and appeared along with the EFF leader. The case had been delayed since 2018 for various reasons, including Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
READ: AfriForum lays charges over Malema rifle incident
Among those supporting Malema in court on Monday were EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu, secretary-general Marshall Dlamini, chairperson in the Eastern Cape Yazini Tetyana and spokespersons Vuyani Pambo and Sinawo Tambo.
The matter was postponed after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) brought an application to have the trial restarted on Tuesday (March 1) so that it could consult with witnesses and other parties. However, this was opposed by the defence attorneys and was referred to regional court magistrate Twanet Olivier, who ruled in favour of the state.
NPA regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said the reason they had asked for a postponement was that they were not ready for trial. He said a state prosecutor who had been in charge of the case, Advocate Elna Smit, had resigned last week, forcing the NPA to find a replacement for her.
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On Monday, state prosecutor Advocate Joel Cesar confirmed to the court that he would be ready to resume the case on Tuesday.
Tyali said:
“It was handed over to the new prosecutor late last week, so he didn’t have enough time to prepare. But as we promised, in court tomorrow the state will be ready to proceed. We don’t foresee any delays.”
Inside court, members of both the EFF and AfriForum filled most of the seating space across the benches.
Outside the court, a small crowd of EFF members craned their necks for a glimpse of their leader. However, Malema, clad in black clothing, was quickly whisked away in a black SUV and did not address his supporters.
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AfriForum said they would enlist their own lawyers to ensure that the state prosecuted the case properly.
Ernst Roets deputy CEO of AfriForum, said they were disappointed that four years down the line, the trial had still not started. He said this was because at first, the NPA had appeared reluctant to prosecute. It was only after AfriForum’s Advocate Gerrie Nel became involved – stating that if the state did not prosecute, then the civil rights organisation would initiate private prosecution – that the state proceeded to prosecute.
READ: Apartheid flag: High court finds Roets not in contempt of court
Roets said that they had appointed their attorneys to do a “watching brief” in the case, meaning that their legal team would monitor the trial proceedings throughout the week as a “shadow prosecuting authority” to ensure that the proper legal process was followed.
He said:
Tambo said Malema was being deliberately targeted.
“We’re not in court today for committing any criminal offence. We’re in court because there are political elements in this country that want to eliminate us,” said the EFF spokesperson.
He said the cases against Malema by AfriForum were part of a political witch-hunt by what he called a “racist organisation”.
“There’s a deliberate attempt to distract the EFF from its mandate and objectives of fighting for the liberation of our people in South Africa [by continually dragging it to court],” he said.
“These court cases are meant to distract us from what we have to do and the mandate that our people have given us, in Parliament and on the ground: to fight for them and ensure that we better their lives. That’s our reading of these cases,” said Tambo.
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