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Julius Malema called “juvenile” by judge, after winning case vs Gordhan

Julius Malema has won a second hate speech case within a week, after he successfully overcame Pravin Gordhan’s application. Still, it wasn’t plain sailing.

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Julius Malema has emerged victorious in his court battle with Pravin Gordhan – even if that did mean his ego had to take a little knock. The EFF leader successfully defended himself on yet another hate speech charge, but he also ended up as a victim of the judge’s freedom of expression.

Why Julius Malema was facing hate speech charges… again

It didn’t take long for the ruling to be handed down. Court was barely in session for an hour. Julius Malema had been marched to the dock to answer claims he made serious threats against Pravin Gordhan, for branding him a “dog of white monopoly capital” and labelling the ANC stalwart “a racist” on several occasions.

The two have been at all-out war for the best part of a year. The EFF rallied against Gordhan during his state capture testimony last November, ramping up their campaign against the Public Enterprises Minister. They want him booting out of government, mainly due to the findings made against him by the Public Protector.

Judge slams “juvenile, puerile” behaviour of Julius Malema

Pravin is accused of running a “rogue unit” of SARS during his time at the tax firm, but he’s firmly denied the claims and vehemently questioned the competency of Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Cyril Ramaphosa has also fallen foul of her investigations, regarding the dubious funds which propped-up his CR17 election campaign.

Julius Malema and Pravin Gordhan eventually ended up in court, and it was a red-letter day for the CIC. The charges against him were dismissed, and the cabinet minister was made to pay the costs. But Judge Roland Schoeman didn’t completely side with Juju. In fact, he shared his criticism of the firebrand politician during his verdict:

“It is plain that the allusion to any loss of life is a mere example of an extravagant, juvenile rant which stretches hyperbole to the extreme in a course of demonstrably demagogic speech.”

“It’s function only served to paint the speaker [Julius Malema] as brave and steadfast in the face of any foe, however mighty. The dominant impression is that this puerile self-aggrandisement, rather than a threat to the applicant [Pravin Gordhan] or anyone else.”

Judge Schoeman

Latest reaction

The EFF’s Godrich Gardee has welcomed the decision, saying that his party must be allowed to hold the state accountable ‘by any means they feel necessary’. Meanwhile, Gordhan and his legal team said they were considering a review of the decision made on Thursday.