Walls closing in on Malema for ‘take any piece of land’ remarks

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Justice Minister Michael Masutha intend to prove a point to Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) leader Julius Malema, who told his followers to seize any piece of white-owned land they wanted.

Masutha and the NPA will go to court in September to defend the state’s decision to charge Malema for inciting land grabs.

According to reports, former NPA head Shaun Abrahams also disagrees with the EFF’s argument on land grabs.

Abrahams has dismissed claims that he met with former president Jacob Zuma to discuss Malema’s prosecution or that Malema’s prosecution is politically motivated.

He said Malema was going against the democratic ethos of the Constitution, as he was justifying his party’s inadequate beliefs on land redistribution policies.

Abrahams believes it is an abuse of free speech by Malema to drive an ideological agenda that intends to overturn the post-apartheid constitutional settlement.

Abrahams maintains the EFF’s attack on the Riotous Assemblies Act is baseless, as the law has been stripped of its apartheid-era baggage, according to a Times Select report.

Malema has been appearing in court for his incitement of supporters to take over land since 2014. The EFF leader has filed an application to scrap what he believes to be an apartheid-era law.

He appeared in the Newcastle Magistrates’ Court in June, where his case was postponed to February 2019.

The court postponement was pending Malema’s Constitutional Court application to challenge the Riotous Assemblies Act.

In 2017, he was gagged by the North Gauteng High Court after AfriForum approached the court to prohibit Malema and the EFF from inciting illegal land grabs.

The interdict prohibited the party members from making public statements on land occupation.