Malema 'land grab' case postponed
Newcastle - The case against Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema for allegedly urging his supporters to invade land was postponed in the Newcastle Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Malema made a brief appearance and the matter was postponed to December 7.
Magistrate Ian Colditz agreed to provisionally postpone the matter pending proof of the application, after which the matter would be heard on May 5 2017.
The EFF leader is facing a charge of contravening the Riotous Assemblies Act of 1956.
Malema reportedly told his supporters in Newcastle in June this year that whites had no claim to land in South Africa, because they brought no land with them when they colonised the tip of the continent.
During the party's elective conference in Bloemfontein in 2014, Malema, reportedly told his supporters: "We are going to occupy the unoccupied land because we need the land. For us to eat‚ we must have the land. For us to work‚ we must have the land. I come from Seshego. If there is unoccupied land‚ we will go and occupy the land with my branch. You must go and do the same in the branch where you come from."
‘Racial tension’
Civil rights group AfriForum laid the charges against him.
"Malema must realise that his land grab policy will not be executed without opposition. AfriForum will fight any land grab policy with everything in our power," spokesperson Nantes Kelder told City Press in December 2014.
Malema's lawyer, Tumi Mokoena, told journalists outside the court on Monday that his client wanted to challenge the constitutionality of the Act.
"The Act provides for racial tension between Europeans and non-Europeans," said Mokoena.
Earlier, African National Congress and Inkatha Freedom Party supporters joined EFF members, saying they wanted to stand by Malema on the land issue.
"This is an issue that affects everyone. It crosses political lines," ANC member Makhosonke Madlalose said.
"The land must be returned to the hands of the people," Malema told his supporters outside court. He said he was not afraid of going to jail to stand up for his beliefs.
"I'm here to disturb the white man's peace," he declared.
This article first appeared on News24
