'We need the arrest of real senior politicians': Malema on Vincent Smith court appearance

EFF leader Julius Malema has weighed in on former ANC MP Vincent Smith's appearance at the Palm Ridge magistrate's court on Thursday, calling for the arrest of “real senior politicians” in the Bosasa corruption case.

TimesLIVE reported that Smith was charged with fraud and corruption involving about R800,000.

Smith said he was willing to stand trial and was determined to prove his innocence. He added that he had no desire to evade justice and would not interfere with the case, adding that he was willing to pay bail of R20,000.

He was granted R30,000 bail and ordered to hand over all travel documents, including his passport. The case was postponed to October 14.

During his testimony at the state capture inquiry commission last month, Smith dismissed claims that he received a loan of more than R600,000 from Bosasa. He argued that he made an arrangement with the company’s former COO Angelo Agrizzi to pay his daughter's tuition fees. 

Reacting to the news, Malema said Smith cannot be referred to as a senior politician and that the “real senior politicians” still needed to be arrested.

“Current and former ministers, they are the ones who must be arrested and be referred to as senior politicians, not some deflection,” said Malema.

On social media, many echoed Malema's sentiments, saying his arrest "does not have an impact on the broader corruption network”.

UDM leader Bantu Holomisa asked when the “Bosasa chain” would end, given that “there are many ruling party honchos in a similar situation”.

Here is a glimpse of what social media users had to say:

TimesLIVE