Malema says irresponsible to have to go to court for a postponement during pandemic

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has taken issue with being asked to appear in court for a postponement during the Covid-19 pandemic as this put lives at risk.

Malema and former EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday for their cop assault case which was postponed to 13 October.

Speaking to members of the media after the postponement, Malema gave the assurance that he and Ndlozi would be in court on 13 October, adding that he thought it was unnecessary for them to go to court on Monday for the matter to be postponed.

“Because we are going through a pandemic as a country and therefore any court that requests us to appear without necessarily a trial is risking our lives and the lives of ordinary people,” Malema said, explaining that as public figures they draw the attention of many people who would want to interact with them and so increasing the risk of them and those persons being infected with Covid-19.

“So it was irresponsible actually to even ask us to appear. You know we’ve got other matters in the Eastern Cape, East London, in Bloemfontein, in Newcastle. All those courts have said for the purposes of postponement of these cases it will not be necessary for us to appear, especially now during Covid-19. So I think someone was just irresponsible by inviting us here,” Malema said.

The two are accused of assaulting a police officer at the funeral of struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in 2018 and they have been charged with common assault.

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