Malema criminally charged two years after AfriForum complaint

13 October 2016

The vengeful land grab statements by Julius Malema, the leader of the EFF, finally came at great expense after he was criminally charged this afternoon of incitement to commit a crime.

Malema’s prosecution results from complaints that AfriForum laid against him in December 2014 after he encouraged his supporters at an EFF conference in Bloemfontein to occupy land nationwide.

Malema is being sued to appear in the Regional Court in Bloemfontein on 14 November 2016. The case was investigated by the Hawks and a subpoena was issued on him shortly after Malema led a media conference in Johannesburg this afternoon.

The complaint was laid against Malema earlier on the grounds of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE) (Act no. 19 of 1998) in terms of which it is illegal for a person to occupy land without the permission of the owner or person in charge of the land.

Nantes Kelder, Head of Investigation at AfriForum, welcomed the decision to prosecute Malema. “In a country such as South Africa, that is being harassed by lawlessness, this sends a strong message that there will be acted against anyone that encourages crime.”

Issued by Nantes Kelder, Head of Investigations, AfriForum, 13 October 2016