South Africa is controlled from London: Malema

07 November 2016 - 15:13 By Neo Goba And Nomahlubi Jordaan
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Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema‚ undeterred by an appearance in court for calling on people to occupy vacant land around the country‚ walked out of the courtroom and promptly made the same call again.

"The prosecution of people who are demanding the land affects us directly because we want the land‚ so the land must be returned to the hands of the people‚" said Malema.

He was addressing hundreds of EFF supporters after his appearance in the Newcastle Magistrate's Court after being charged with contravention of the 1956 Riotous Assemblies Act. Malema was issued with a summons in October.

He lashed the ruling African National Congress for its failure to return land to black people and issued a stern warning to white people that his party would give the land back to "rightful owners".

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"This is our continent it belongs to us. We want our land. It must come with everything. The land comes with the sea. The sea belongs to us. The fish in the sea belongs to us. The land comes with the trees. The trees belong to us. That includes dagga. It belongs to us. We want it back.

"We want everything that comes with the land…The minerals‚ gold‚ diamonds‚ platinum‚ coals everything that comes with land belongs to us."


The red berets leader's charges relate to two incidents - the first dating back to when he was elected EFF president in Bloemfontein. The second case is from June 2016‚ when Malema told supporters in the northern KwaZulu-Natal town - as the party celebrated the 61st anniversary of the Freedom Charter - that white people can't claim ownership of land because it belongs to the country's black African majority.

Speaking outside the court on Monday‚ Malema said the charges brought against him were laid because he had disturbed the peace of white people.

But he warned that there was more to come.

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"We are not calling for the slaughter of white people‚ at least for now… The rightful owners of the land are black people. No white person is a rightful owner of the land here in South Africa and whole of the African continent‚" he said.

He called on for the new elections which will bring a new Parliament as the current one had failed in its constitutional obligation.

Malema said while the call for President Jacob Zuma to step down was gathering momentum‚ he was not the main target.

The main enemy‚ he said‚ was "monopoly capital" which has continued to benefit from the land while black people struggled across the country.

He described the charges against him as just tactics by chancers and warned he had dealt with real stuff before.

The case against Malema was postponed on Monday to 7 December to allow for filing of an application against the Act.

Malema will approach the Constitutional Court to ask it to find the Riotous Assemblies Act unconstitutional.

During his brief appearance on Monday‚ his lawyer Tumi Mokwena asked for the matter to be postponed to allow Malema to file his ConCourt application.

The state agreed to the postponement on condition that Malema provides proof that he has filed the application.

If he provides proof‚ Malema will not be required to make his next appearance in the Newcastle Magistrate’s Court on December 7. He will have to appear again in court on May 5.

- TMG Digital

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