EFF leader Julius Malema has escalated his fight to beyond the courtroom as he is now gunning for the magistrate and prosecutor who convicted him.
In a blistering attack after his sentencing, Malema accused KuGompo City magistrate Twanet Olivier of judicial misconduct and suggested that he planned to report her to the Magistrates Commission while also calling for state prosecutor Joel Cesar to face a perjury charge.
The move marks a sharp escalation in the political and legal fallout from Malema’s conviction for discharging a firearm in public, with the EFF leader now directly challenging the conduct of the officials who handled his case.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said that if Malema believed he had been denied a fair trial, the proper forum to raise those complaints was through the appeal process.
“If he feels there were any irregularities that gave him an unfair trial, he can raise these during an appeal,” NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said.
Tyali said the state remained confident in both the conviction and the sentence.
“We feel strongly, as the NPA, that we proved that he is guilty, which is why the court found him guilty. We feel the sentence is also fair,” he said.
Malema, addressing supporters outside court, launched a personal and sustained attack on Olivier, accusing her of incompetence, bias and political motivation.
He referred to her as a racist and suggested she could be aligned to lobby group AfriForum.
“She’s the most incompetent magistrate who read a judgment for three days. It has never been done,” Malema said.
He accused Olivier of entering court without having properly read legal arguments submitted by his lawyers.
“We are tried by a magistrate who doesn’t read, who uses emotions, and who speaks politics.”
Malema said he intended pursuing a complaint with the Magistrates Commission over what he described as judicial misconduct.
He also accused Cesar of improper conduct and said a perjury case should be opened against him.
Malema claims that Cesar knew in advance that co-accused Adriaan Snyman would be acquitted and allegedly told him to collect his firearm before judgment was delivered.
“How did the prosecutor know that accused number two is not going to be found guilty?” Malema asked.
“That is the misconduct of a prosecutor.”
He further alleged that Olivier and Cesar had discussed the merits of the judgment outside court before it was handed down, describing this as evidence of an improper relationship between the bench and the prosecution.
“So clearly, you’ve got a special relationship with the prosecutor as a magistrate, and that is misconduct on its own,” he said.
Olivier sentenced Malema to five years’ direct imprisonment for unlawful possession of a firearm, with all other counts running concurrently.
They included two years for unlawful possession of ammunition and a R20,000 fine or six months’ imprisonment for unlawfully discharging the firearm and reckless endangerment.
He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Malema’s charges date back to 2018, when he discharged a firearm at a rally in Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane, where his party was holding its birthday celebrations.
Malema remains out on warning.
While events unfolded in KuGompo City, Malema’s deputy Godrich Gardee was in Makhanda with other party supporters readying to file appeal papers at the high court.
Gardee dismissed any suggestion that the case was over.
“Chill. Those who were going to cork up their champagne: you can drop your glasses and stop; there is nothing to celebrate — our president is still going to be with us,” Gardee said.
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