Malema pushes, 'swears' at restaurant patron - with video

Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema has been filmed on CCTV camera, in "intimidatory" behaviour towards a Tzaneen man.

The patron, Cassie Moller, today laid criminal charges of assault, intimidation and crimen injuria against Malema, a member of parliament for the EFF.

The scuffle took place at a take-away restaurant in Tzaneen, Limpopo, on August 6. Moller later managed to get the closed circuit television footage of the altercation with the help of a legal representative.

“It was a very intimidating situation,” Moller said in an affidavit.

He said he and his wife had stopped at the Steers at around 2:20am. While he remained in the car, his wife waited to place an order. There were a group of men who appeared to have been drinking whiskey on the premises.

By 2.40am his wife had not yet received their order of two hamburgers. Frustrated. Moller entered the restaurant and tried to catch the attention of wait staff to query the delay. He asked for a refund and to cancel the order.

“While I was looking in front me, I felt a heavy slap on my back. When I turned around, there was a person standing very close to me and who asked me in a very hostile way: ‘Who do you think you are!?’ He repeatedly asked the question and in between the questions, he called me a ‘Boer’.” It was Malema.

“He also started telling us: ‘Get out! Get out!’...  Julius Malema became more aggressive and started shouting. He started pushing me against my will and he tried to physically remove me from the Steers Restaurant.”

“I … explained that I did not want to fight, but Julius Malema’s aggressiveness just increased. He started shouting louder and swore at me… During the shouting, I also heard him telling me: “I will fuck you up!’, ” Moller said.

“He then pushed me hard. With this push I stepped back in an effort to maintain my balance and in the process bumped into the person behind me. The impact caused the person behind me to stumble. I kept on explaining that I did not want to fight. Julius Malema pushed me for the third time.

“He also waved his finger repeatedly in front of my face and pointed with his finger at my face while he raised his voice to me. Some of the other men in the restaurant also waved their fingers in front of my face. The group that was standing there, started flocking together and pushed me around against my will. They mocked me and some of the men in the restaurant pushed me and slapped me on my back. At last my wife received the order and then they pushed me out of the Steers Restaurant. When my wife walked out of the restaurant one of the men put his hand on her back and also pushed her out the door.”

Ernst Roets, Deputy CEO at AfriForum, said they had assisted Moller in laying criminal charges.

“The incident sketches a clear image of Malema as a bully who regards himself above the law and his fellow citizens. We cannot allow public representatives to act like criminals without facing the consequences,” he said.