EFF welcomes the judgment by the Randburg Magistrates Court which found Julius Malema and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi not guilty of assault

29 September 2022

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) welcomes the sensible and correct judgement passed by the Randburg Magistrates Court, which found the Commander in Chief and President of the EFF Julius Malema, as well as Commissar Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi not guilty of assault, at the funeral of Mama Winnie Mandela.

In 2018, after the nation lost a mother, a hero and struggle stalwart by the name of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the Commander in Chief attended her funeral, to pay his last respects to a mother and liberation hero who inspired him since his days as a youth activist.

Sadly, a racist by the name of Johannes Venter arrogantly and violently attempted to stop the CIC Julius Malema and Commissar Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, from burying their mother, by restricting their freedom of movement into her final resting place baselessly. The restriction was baseless because, the vehicle used by the President of the EFF and Commissar Dr. Ndlozi had the necessary permit to access the burial site.

The Randburg Magistrates Court rightfully determined that the pushing of Venter by the President of the EFF and Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi was justified, and the State failed to make a case of assault beyond reasonable doubt, due to numerous discrepancies and contradictions in the version of evidence by the state witnesses.

Notably, the court found that the defence successfully proved justification for pushing Venter who tried to prohibit CIC Julius Malema from burying Mama Winnie, and that the witnesses did not deviate, contradict themselves or crack under cross examination. This means that the testimony of CIC Julius Malema and Commissar Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi was superior, sound and logical.

In essence the court found that CIC Julius Malema and Commissar Dr. Ndlozi exercised their rights to freedom of movement, movement which was restricted unlawfully by the racist Johannes Venter. Rightfully, the court found that the CIC and President of the EFF Julius Malema and Commissar Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi were justified in removing an obstacle which was obstructing their rights to freedom of movement.

Damningly, the courts evaluation of the evidence of the racist Johannes Venter found that Venter's evidence was not impressive, in terms of his explanation of the discrepancies in what he presented to the court and his statements. The credibility of Venter was cast as the questionable character he is, as he could not justify or account for why he stopped CIC Julius Malema from accessing the burial site of Mama Winnie.

The EFF is of the firm belief that Venter's denial of access to the leadership of the EFF, to the burial site of Mama Winnie was based purely on racism and a hatred for the EFF, due to his membership with Afriforum. He used no list to identify whether they were to be granted access or not, nor did he use any verifiable procedure to justify him denying access to the EFF President Julius Malema and Commissar Ndlozi. He conceded himself that even if the vehicle used by the EFF leadership had the necessary identification, which he claimed he did not see, he would have still denied them access. This confirms that his logic to deny access was racism.

The dismissal of this case, which was undoubtedly sponsored by the right-wing Afriforum, comes after the scathing judgement against the very same Afriforum in the case relating to the struggle song Dubula lbhunu. The EFF is vindicated as we have long said that the racist lobby-group is engaged in an abuse of our judiciary to fight a political battle against the EFF and its leadership.

Afriforum has once again lost to the superior logic of the EFF and its capable legal team. The pain has gone straight to the hearts of the hateful white-supremacists of Afriforum, who fundraise using the name of EFF and through swaart-gevaar tactics, simply because the EFF is fighting for the return of the land. It is a judgment that undermines the presumption that to simply touch a white man, constitutes a crisis, even when such a white man violates the rights of Africans.

The EFF welcomes this outcome and the closing of a painful chapter which has stifled the mourning and healing of CIC Julius Malema and Commissar Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.

We are confident that Mama Winnie is resting in peace knowing that her children will no longer be dragged to court, for fighting for their right to bury their mother.

This victory is dedicated to her, her selflessness and sacrifice for the people of this country. Lala Ngoxolo Mama, the EFF commits itself to continue to teach racists a harsh lesson of respect and humility for African people.

Issued by Sinawo Thambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 29 September 2022