Julius Malema’s firearm case postponed due to lockdown regulations

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema will not have to face the music on Thursday 16 July regarding his firearm case. This comes after he allegedly discharged a firearm during the party’s fifth-anniversary celebrations in East London in July 2018. A video of the incident went viral on social media. 

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the Eastern Cape, the matter has been postponed due to lockdown regulations. 

MALEMA’S FIREARM CASE POSTPONED

This is not the first time this case has been postponed. On Friday 8 May, the NPA said the case of Malema and his co-accused Adriaan Snyman would be postponed to 16 July, putting the reason down to Level 4 lockdown regulations. Over two months later, there has been a similar outcome. 

On Thursday 16 July, NPA Regional spokesperson in the Eastern Cape Anelisa Ngcakani said the case of Malema and his co-accused Adriaan Snyman would be postponed to 17 September 2020. 

“The postponement will be done in the absence of the accused. The postponement is due to lockdown regulations,” she said. 

The charges laid against Malema and his co-accused consist of the following: 

• Unlawful possession of a firearm;
• Unlawful possession of ammunition;
• Discharge of a firearm in a built-up area or a public place;
• Failure to take reasonable precaution to persons or properties;
• Reckless endangerment to persons or properties; and
• Adriaan Snyman was charged with failure to take reasonable precautions to prevent danger to persons or property.

JULIUS DENIES FIRING GUN IN PUBLIC

Roughly one month after the shooting incident, Malema denied ever having discharged a firearm. Having an explanation for video footage, he said the sounds of gunshots happened to coincide with fireworks. 

Malema also said police were trying to frame him. Times Live reported on the appearance of Malema on television. During the show Malema again denied the incident saying:

“It coincided with fireworks all the time in the celebration of the EFF. Unfortunately, you are seeing it for the first time. There was no gun… I will not even discharge a firearm amongst our own members‚ because I know how dangerous it is. There was no live ammunition at all,” he said. 

“There’s a white police chap there in East London who moves around with a cartridge who says to the forensic‚ ‘Let’s go and create the crime scene and then I will put this’. I don’t understand where does it come from‚ because if there was a genuine cartridge‚ you can go to the scene and find it there. Why do you have to create a crime scene?” he added.