Malema will appear in court when required to do so, says EFF

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has clarified matters around the warrant of arrest that was issued for its leader, Julius Malema, for not appearing at the East London Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

The party said the warrant had been held over until until a date of trial has been set by the magistrate’s court, which is standard legal practice.

“In the previous appearance, the CIC was excused from appearing in the East London court until the trial starts, through the agreement of the magistrate and the prosecutor. It is law that when an accused does not appear in court then a warrant of arrest is authorised, but held over. This means that there is a warrant but it cannot be executed and the accused cannot be arrested until and unless the accused does not appear on the set day of trial when ordered by the court,” said the EFF.

The issued warrant is standard procedure, not a cause for concern for Malema or the EFF, added the party.

AfriForum laid charges against Malema after a video emerged in August 2018 of the EFF leader firing what looks like a high-powered automatic rifle into the air at his party’s birthday celebration gathering in the Eastern Cape.

Malema was charged by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on five counts of allegedly discharging a firearm in public and the unlawful possession of a firearm.

UPDATE: Malema unfazed by arrest warrant as NPA confirms ‘matter of procedure’

The video led to the EFF being criticised for promoting political violence, with the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) eThekwini Region calling for a probe into the matter and for Malema to be charged under the Firearms Control Act.

Providing clarity on the matter on Jacaranda FM, Ndlozi said at the time: “It was not a real gun, it was a simulation which collaborated with the fireworks. We use it, and we always do, to evoke both the celebrations and the memory of the struggle of our past as black people in South Africa, so it’s not a real firearm, it’s not a firearm, actually, and no bullets were fired […] it’s a toy gun, it’s a toy.”

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