Julius Malema court case postponed under ‘unusual circumstances’

The hearing of Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, EFF MP, was postponed under “unusual circumstances” civil rights organisation Afriforum said on Monday.. 

Malema and Ndlozi were expected to appear in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday to face charges related to the assault of SAPS colonel, Johannes Venter. 

Malema and Ndlozi allegedly assaulted the policeman in uniform in April 2018. The alleged assault was captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

The policeman opened a case against the pair, however, the matter allegedly only received police attention when AfriForum’s private prosecution unit enquired about the progress of the investigation in January 2019.

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit earlier joined the matter after the organisation alleged that the case had been interfered in. During previous proceedings, the court not only heard that the original case docket had disappeared but that the photographic evidence had allegedly been tampered with. 

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit said it had been informed on arrival at the court  on Monday that Malema and Ndlozi’s legal team and the state had come to an agreement to postpone the case. None of the other concerned parties regarding the case had been informed of the decision to postpone the matter, AfriForum alleged.

“This turn of events is extremely unusual and very disconcerting. I am convinced that the ordinary citizen would not have enjoyed the same priority treatment, especially not after a court had already determined the date of their reappearance. It seems that Malema is developing a habit of not appearing in court. He also failed to appear in East London on a charge of illegally firing a firearm, which AfriForum laid against him,” Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum campaign manager said.

“It appears that a postponement culture has taken hold in the criminal justice system. AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit will continue to carefully monitor the case and to ensure that justice prevails,” Adv. Gerrie Nel, Head of AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit said.

The matter is now expected to resume for the start of the trial from 6 to 9 December 2021 in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.