EFF Leader Julius Malema No Stranger to Being Accused of Criminality: From Assault, Defamation to Hate Speech
Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema is no stranger to the courtroom. However, the Red Berets leader is seemingly never fazed by the allegations against him as he often finds himself beating the charges or the case gets dropped for one reason or another.
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Briefly News looks at some of the crimes Malema has been accused of since leaving the African National Congress.
1. Julius Malema hauled to court for money laundering charges
Shortly after being expelled from the ANC as the leader of the Youth League, Malema found himself in legal waters and was slapped with a money laundering charge.
According to EWN, Malema was accused of money laundering amounting to R15 million. He also faced a total of 16 charges and was released on bail of R10 000 in September 2012.
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The charge sheet stated that Malema's Ratanang Family Trust had received R6 million from irregular and fraudulent tenders. The company, On-Point Engineering, which was partially owned by the trust, was at the centre of the fiasco.
According to News24, the charges against Malema were dropped in 2015, and he was free to go.
2. EFF leader accused of hate speech, twice
While he was still a vibrant leader of the ANC Youth League, Malema rallied the young ANC comrades and chanted Dubula i'Bhuni (Shoot the Boer), which lead to a lengthy court case instituted by AfriForum.
The pro-Afrikaner group argued that the song should not be sung because it amounted to hate speech and could potentially bring harm to white farmers. According to Aljazeera, the Equality Court agreed with AfriForum and found him guilty of hate speech.
Fast forward a few years later, Malema changed the lyrics of the song and sang 'Kiss the Boer' at an EFF rally. AfriForum hauled the EFF leader and MP Mbuyiseni Dlozi to court over the song, however, they were found innocent in August 2022, according to SABC News.
EFF members were happy with the verdict and broke out in song as soon as the court adjourned.
3. Julius Malema gets excited at EFF rally, discharges gun in public
The EFF leader and his bodyguard Adriaan Snyman were criminally charged for discharging a gun in a public space in 2018. The incident took place at the EFF's fifth birthday party celebration at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane, in the Eastern Cape.
Malema and Snyman both pleaded not guilty to the charges and even claimed that the rifle used at the EFF rally was not a real gun, according to News24.
In an attempt to poke holes at the state's case, the defence also claimed that blanks were fired into the air, and there is a distinct difference between the sound of a real rifle being fired and blanks.
The trial was expected to start in March 2022 officially but was postponed to 5 September 2022. The matter has been postponed again to January 2023 because Malema's legal representative is focused on the Life Esidemeni inquiry.
4. Malema and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi fight a police officer
In 2018, tensions were really high at the late Winnie Mandela-Madikizela's funeral service in Fourways, Johannesburg. EFF leaders Julius Malema and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, who was the EFF's national spokesperson at the time, tussled with a police officer after they were denied entry into the service.
The altercation with the Red Berets leaders prompted Lieutenant colonel Johannes Venter to file assault charges against the pair. The matter has been heard at the Randburg Magistrate's Court, and judgement will be handed down on 29 September 2022, according to 702.
During the trial, Ndlozi told the court that the altercation with Venter was merely self-defence.
“We were mourning, it was an emotional day and if anything that we didn’t even suspect would happen comes and threatens our right to bury Miss Winnie Mandela, you would respond in the manner we did," said Ndlozi.
The pair are confident that the magistrate will come back with a not guilty verdict.
5. Julius Malema beats an assault charge
In 2014, a Limpopo man accused EFF leader Julius Malema of attacking him in Polokwane. The motorist opened a case of common assault against Malema and another unnamed man.
According to EWN, Bernard Redelinghuys claimed that he was slapped during a road rage incident. However, the EFF claimed they had no idea Malema was being investigated for the assault.
The Red Berets also felt the case against Malema was a smear campaign against the eccentric party leader.
Police spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi shut down the EFF's claims and verified that the police were looking into the matter but stopped when Redelinghuys dropped the charges.
6. Julius Malema gets slapped with a defamation lawsuit
Juju will once again battle it out in court now that Advocate Malesela Teffo has lodged a complaint for defaming his name. Teffo also filed similar defamation charges against Kelly Khumalo's lawyer, Magdalene Moonsamy.
Teffo's defamation allegations were prompted by Malema's criticism of the lawyer after he abruptly withdrew from the Senzo Meyiwa trial. Malema was very critical of Teffo because the lawyer made some damning allegations against the presiding judge, according to TimesLIVE.
The EFF responded to Teffo's allegations and stated the lawsuit was frivolous and that he was using Malema to get back in the media.
5 Most memorable times the EFF protested for change in South Africa
Briefly News previously reported that the EFF commander-in-chief Julius Malema was kicked out of the ruling party after he was found guilty of committing three offences, which included fomenting divisions and bringing the party into disrepute in 2012.
At the time, the ANC believed that Malema's behaviour could not be rehabilitated and upheld their verdict against him even after appeal. Malema went down with the current EFF deputy, Floyd Shivambu.
Since the formation of the EFF, the party has been very vocal about several issues affecting South Africans and has even led protests that have brought about change. Briefly News takes a look at some of the most memorable protests that were led by the EFF.
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