Ex DA MP Phumzile Van Damme Impressed With How Julius Malema Handled Himself Against AfriForum Lawyer
- Phumzile Van Damme, the former Democratic Alliance MP, has weighed in on the court proceedings in the "Kill the Boer" trial
- The court case was instituted by civil rights group AfriForum against EFF leader Julius Malema for singing the struggle song
- Van Damme has found AfriForum's lawyer, Mark Oppenheimer's performance underwhelming and even implied that Oppenheimer was not well-prepared to question Malema
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JOHANNESBURG - Former Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament Phumzile Van Damme was thoroughly impressed with how Julius Malema, the Economic Freedom Fighter leader conducted himself in court last week.
Malema appeared in court to testify in civil hate speech case launched by civil society group AfriForum. AfriForum wants Malema to pay a fine of R500 000 for singing the struggle chant "Kill the Boer."
Source: Getty Images
According to TimesLIVE, AfriForum alleges that there is a correlation between the singing of the struggle song and the murders of white farmers, Malema has denied this allegation.
A few clips of the court proceedings have been making the rounds on social media and many could not help but notice how Malema was given a platform to share the EFF's idealogy in court.
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One of these clips made its way to Van Damme's timeline and she took the opportunity to weigh in on the court proceedings. In this particular clip, AfriForum's lawyer Mark Oppenheimer asked Malema about South Africa and Cuba's relations and this line of questioning was scrutinised by Van Damme.
Van Damme first questioned whether the trial taking place is really about the "Kill the Boer" chant or about political ideologies. She went on to say that AfriForum's lawyer was ill-prepared to deal with Malema and the EFF leader dribbled him.
The post:
Van Damme added that when questioning Malema, you need to be ready for the answers he might give because he is not an ordinary witness.
"You’ve got to be prepared for the answers Malema could give. The man is an orator, not some ordinary witness. This was clearly not taken into account. He has now put Afriforum on trial, instead. Cringing hard," said Van Damme.
South Africans agree with Van Damme's sentiments
Some social media users agreed with Van Damme about the AfriForum lawyer being ill-prepared to question Malema, however, others felt that Malema has been underestimated by AfriForum and it had nothing to do with not being adequately prepared.
Here are some comments:
@Vikings30730343 said:
"My sister, he wasn't ill-prepared, white people generally think Malema is a fool and can't think... They underestimate him and that's their naiveness."
@siyand26 said:
"Bayalayeka!! Afriforum members and other white South Africans have always thought of Malema as an idiot because of the propaganda they feed each other... You can hold a different view to his politics but can't deny his brilliance as a politician and orator."
@AsarielMatee said:
"Afriforum was unwittingly prepared for this political lecturing Malema delivered to their desk and I'm trilled most if not many people find his perspective encouraging and educational."
EFF leader Julius Malema drops a bombshell amid heated High Court testimony: "I'm not Scared of killing"
Briefly News previously reported that Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema's testimony in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg came to a head with a bold assertion on Thursday.
Amid his cross-examination by Mark Oppenheimer, the politician pronounced that was not afraid to die as he had already died some time ago. Malema was testifying in the hate speech matter brought against the EFF by civil rights organisation AfriForum.
Briefly News previously reported that the case relates to the controversial struggle song, "Dubul'ibhunu", which loosely translates to "Shoot the Boer", that the party is known to sing at its rallies.
Source: Briefly News
