Julius Malema prepares for trial as EFF gathers in Polokwane in solidarity

The city of Polokwane, site of the watershed ANC conference at which Thabo Mbeki was ousted from the ANC leadership in favour of Jacob Zuma, is bracing for another standoff that might prove to have national repercussions. Next week, the trial of Julius Malema will begin in the Limpopo Province capital. More than 3000 Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) supporters are expected to show their support for Malema, colloquially known as Juju, starting with a night vigil on the eve of the trial.

Malema’s legal troubles have ceased making the headlines as often as they did before June, when Malema last appeared in court on corruption charges. In the interim, Juju has busily organised a political party, the EFF, which has surprised politics watchers by its energy and by one or two promising high-profile defections from the ANC. Juju had been the highly visible leader of the ANC Youth League before his 2011 expulsion for bringing the party into disrepute.

The trial is expected to take 10 days, and South Africans can expect to remain fully briefed on its progress through social and traditional media. Malema and the party have already had a taste of the no-room-at-the-inn treatment after no Polokwane venue agreed to host the EFF solidarity gathering, which has now decamped to the Cosmo Leisure Lodge outside the city.

Malema and his beret-clad supporters hope for a positive outcome to his charges of tender irregularities in a R52 million contract granted to On-Point Engineers, a company partly owned by Juju. All of the company directors are to stand trial with Malema, whose total income from allegedly corrupt activities is supposed to approach R4 million.

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