Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema wants charges against him be struck off the roll pending the finalisation of the High Court challenge on the constitutionality of the Riotous Assemblies Act.
Malema appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on charges of contravening the Act after allegedly inciting his supporters to invade land during the party’s inaugural conference in 2014.
The case has been postponed to June next year.
Malema’s lawyer maintains that the magistrate’s court cannot make a ruling on a case which is still pending in the High Court. The defense also argued that Malema should be excused from attending next proceedings, citing costs.
But that contention was shot down by the state. The EFF argues that the state is wasting resources.
The party has described the 1956 Act as an apartheid era law, aimed at silencing the government’s critics.
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