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WATCH: ‘If it means prison then let it be’ – Malema blasts magistrate’s ‘ill-discipline’
'This is unacceptable,' the EFF leader said in court on Wednesday.
EFF leader Julius Malema testifies in court on 16 February 2022. Picture: Neil McCartney
A frustrated Julius Malema lost his cool in court on Wednesday, blasting the magistrate presiding over his firearm discharge trial for allegedly being late.
Malema and his bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, returned to the dock in the East London Magistrate’s Court for the continuation of their trial.
The EFF leader is facing five charges, including the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharging a firearm in a built-up area or public space and reckless endangerment to person or property, while Snyman faces two charges under the Firearms Controls Act.
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Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Malema was captured on video firing what appeared to be an automatic rifle during the EFF’s fifth birthday celebration at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane in 2018.
The authenticity of the video footage was previously questioned in court.
‘It’s absolute rubbish’
Day three of the trial got off to a slow start and could not begin on Wednesday morning due to load shedding.
While proceedings were meant to start after 11am, Magistrate Twanet Olivier was allegedly late, much to the dissatisfaction of Malema.
“She’s not above the law. She has a duty to respect us. This is unacceptable. We have two hours today… if anything we should have started on time.
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“This is absolute rubbish we must never stand for. If it means prison then let it be prison, but no one must disrespect us like that. No magistrate, no prosecutor must disrespect us and we keep quiet,” the EFF leader told journalists.
“She has never been early to any court. She says come at 12, we come at 12, she’s never here. We must not talk because we are scared to go to jail? It can’t be. We are being disrespected. We have rights and our rights have to be respected.”
Malema suggested the magistrate was late for nearly an hour.
“Five years we’ve been here, she has never been on time. No journalist has written about that, about her ill-discipline or coming late to court. All of us should have been here on time [because] there’s load shedding.
“They said to us to be here for two hours today… we have lost the whole day [because] now it’s one hour and she’s still not here. I’m not the type to keep quiet when nonsense happens. Nonsense is nonsense, I don’t care who does it, a judge or a magistrate, it’s absolute rubbish. It’s unacceptable. We have been too quiet for five years of disrespect,” he added.
Recusal
Earlier in the year, Malema sought Olivier’s removal from the case, citing concerns of bias by the magistrate.
The EFF leader’s recusal application, which was opposed by the state, was, however, dismissed.
“The presumed bias is unfounded. The application to recuse myself in this matter is refused,” the magistrate ruled at the time.
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