Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema says politicians should not be exempt from the rule of law. This is after AfriForum laid charges against him in relation to a video which purportedly shows him firing shots into the air at a recent EFF event.
Malema was addressing lawyers from the Limpopo Law Council, outside Polokwane. He also told the lawyers that the judiciary must be questioned if it strays from the principles of the Constitution.
The Limpopo Law Society says part of the reason it invited Malema to address them, includes the profession’s need to embrace radical change. Most of Malema’s address focused on shaming public office bearers. He also touched on the importance of adhering to the rule of law under the judiciary.
“ Justice must not be done only, it must be seen to be done and we need that type of rule of law if our democracy is going to succeed. The judiciary must never see who is in office, they must see the Constitution and the facts, not faces of individuals, otherwise we are finished. “
The Limpopo Law Council says most of its members welcomed the decision to have Malema address them. “The profession is going through a lot of changes and we’ve had to ask ourselves a lot of deep questions as to where the profession is going in the future because our structures that presently exist are going to change quite radically and as far as change and being vocal by saying exactly what you mean when you want to Mr. Malema is obviously the prime person to do that. He was at the LSNP’s AGM, he draws a lot of people because the attorneys are ready for change and they ask a larger number of questions, they are vital in our society to make radical decisions,” says Chairperson, Michelle Beatson.
Meanwhile, the Law Council says it does not want to draw any conclusions, following charges being laid against Malema by AfriForum. The charges relate to contravening the Firearms Control Act. This is in relation to a video, which purportedly shows Malema firing shots into the air at the EFF’s recent birthday celebrations in the Eastern Cape.
“You know it is very difficult to make anything because as you hear he speaks strongly about the rule of law and I have got to be very careful to say anything relating to controversial things because remember there are always going to be institutions that fight, AfriForum being one of them, and they fight on different levels, sometimes racially orientated, sometimes not, but to go to the facts of it that will be very difficult for me because I can’t really make up upon it,” says Beatson.
Malema has, in the meantime, congratulated both the President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa, and his opponent Nelson Chamisa following the recent elections in that country. He says the opposition party there, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has to accept the results. “We would have wanted Chamisa to win here in South Africa, because we would be inspired as the opposition but the brother put a good fight, the brother must accept that he has done well, he has put Zanu PF at 50.8%. No one has done that. We call upon President Mnangagwa to serve one term he is too old.”
Malema has also advised members of the legal profession to promote the empowerment of women lawyers. He has called for women to be promoted to partner positions at law firms. Click below for more on the story:
