AfriForum takes legal action over Malema’s land grab call
Johannesburg – AfriForum and its business lobby group, Afribusiness, said on Wednesday that they had obtained a court date to enforce a court interdict against the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and its leader Julius Malema for calling for land invasions.
This comes after the two organisations in March obtained the interdict to prohibit the EFF and Malema from calling on the public to invade and occupy any vacant land of their choosing.
The interdict was not opposed by Malema or the EFF, but shortly after the court granted it the respondents launched a rescission application to declare the interdict invalid, effectively placing the enforceability thereof on hold until the matter is heard and finalised by a court of law.
The rescission will be argued on 11 September whereby the interdict will either be set aside or enforced.
Malema reportedly urged black people to take land again this past weekend at the EFF’s fourth birthday celebrations in Durban.
Armand Greyling, law and policy analyst at AfriBusiness, said that Malema should be held accountable for these “irresponsible comments”.
“It is unfortunate that Malema continues to call for illegal land invasions, but this is something that we as an organisation will not tolerate,” Greyling said in a statement.
“The Constitution guarantees the protection of property rights within the Republic of South Africa, and anyone who seeks to undermine this right should be brought to book. We look forward to hearing Malema and the EFF’s arguments in this case, as no justifiable reason for the rescission appears in their court papers.”
Malema is already facing charges of contravening the 1956 Riotous Assemblies Act. In June of 2016, Malema reportedly urged local supporters to invade land which “whites had no claim to” in South Africa.
He is challenging the constitutionality of the Riotous Assemblies Act after being charged twice in Newcastle and in Bloemfontein. His case will resume on 13 October in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal. IOL
