Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has continued his unsubstantiated attack on the judiciary, the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture and National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi.
Malema echoed a term used by corruption-accused former president Jacob Zuma – “judicial dictatorship” – and repeated the sentiments of the so-called RET grouping in the ANC that prosecutions were selective. He, however, denied that the EFF was part of “any faction in any political party”.
On Tuesday, a day after he appeared in the East London Regional Court on firearms-related charges, Malema briefed the media on the outcomes of the EFF’s central command team meeting and plenum over the weekend.
“White supremacists are gaining too much confidence under this administration. Under the current administration, important state institutions and processes are being used for factional purposes,” Malema claimed.
“The rule of law in South Africa is applied selectively, and sections of the judiciary are being co-opted into this nonsensical direction.
“While we still respect the commission of inquiry into state capture, we should state here that the direction that the Zondo commission has assumed is aimed at satisfying certain factional agendas and programme.
“We do not and will not associate with people who have stolen government money and resources for their own benefit, and we do not associate with any faction in any political party.
“We, however, correctly observe that the Zondo commission is now assuming a factional agenda and programme aimed at protecting the white capitalist establishment.”
Asked if he still wanted Zuma to appear before the commission, Malema first spent some time complaining about former EFF chairperson Dali Mpofu’s admonishment by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo after Mpofu told another advocate to “shut up”, claiming Mpofu was reacting to racism.
Without providing evidence to support his claims, he said the commission and Zondo were factional and that Zondo “worships” Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and “whiteness”.
However, he said Zuma must still go to the commission.
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“When Zondo takes a wrong decision, we can review.”
He said the EFF fought to establish the commission, but it wasn’t what they had envisaged.
They envisaged a commission that wouldn’t only hold “Gupta-stooges” accountable.
“We envisaged a commission that would hold Rupert accountable,” he said.
“Zondo is not our god; he is a human being.”
“We are not going to be scared of a judicial dictatorship. We are not going to keep quiet because he is a judge.”
He said the EFF’s critics were on the “payroll of white capital”.
He said the corruption-accused ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule had been asked to step aside because the “white establishment says Magashule is a problem”.
Without substantiating, he claimed that Batohi “works” with Gordhan and that “certain people are targeted”.
He also said: “There is no space here in the EFF for crooks.”
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Malema’s accusations against the judiciary and Batohi follow similar recent statements, most notably in the debate on Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address.
Malema also called on Ramaphosa to roll out a vaccine programme and to look further than Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson, and at Russian, Chinese and Cuban vaccines.
Furthermore, the EFF reiterated its call to postpone the coming local government elections, but also stated that they were ready to govern every municipality.
News24 Wire
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