Malema land occupation court case postponed to 2019
Malema's court case is contingent on the outcome of his challenge to the constitutionality of the Riotous Assemblies Act.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader, Julius Malema greets supporters outside Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court in Free State, 14 November 2016, after his court appearance on charges relating to the alleged contravention of the Riotous Assemblies Act, which prohibits gatherings that might be deemed a public disruption by the State.The case was postponed to 5 June, 2017. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
The state on Friday asked the Bloemfontein Magistrates’s Court to postpone the matter until next year pending the outcome of a case that will be heard in the High Court in Pretoria, where EFF leader Julius Malema is challenging the constitutionality of the apartheid-era Riotous Assemblies Act, which was passed in 1956.
The court granted the request, and the case will again be heard on 21 June next year, according to the SABC.
Malema case in the BFN magistrate court postponed to 21 June 2019.#sabcNews
— Aphumelele Mdlalane (@AphumeleleMdla2) July 27, 2018
Malema’s defence argued that the case should be struck off the roll, as a ruling cannot be made until the Pretoria high court rules on whether the act that Malema is accused of contravening is constitutional.
The EFF leader is facing charges of incitement after he urged people to occupy vacant land.
He was forced to leave East London to make his court appearance. He had spent a week giving addresses in townships in the area ahead of the party’s fifth birthday celebrations on Saturday.
The party on Thursday also called for Malema’s charges to be dropped entirely.
READ MORE: EFF calls for charges against Malema to be dropped
He was charged under the Riotous Assemblies Act after he encouraged EFF members at the party’s elective conference in Bloemfontein in 2014 to occupy land.
He repeated the same call in June last year near Madadeni, KwaZulu-Natal.
The EFF will be celebrating its fifth birthday with a big bash at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in East London on Saturday from noon. The event is expected to be a big one, with the party confirming they will be slaughtering ten cows for the occasion.
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