EFF LEADER Julius Malema was due to appear in the Newcastle Magistrate’s Court in KwaZulu-Natal today on charges of incitement to commit a crime.
He was served with a warrant to appear in court last month – more than two years after making public statements about land during the run-up to the 2014 elections.
The EFF described the charge as one of the plots that used state resources to deal with President Jacob Zuma's opponents.
Malema had been addressing the media on the EFF’s plans to march against state capture and the now aborted criminal charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan when the Hawks arrived at his party headquarters in Braamfontein to serve the notice. He's accused of contravening the Riotous Assemblies Act of 1956.
EFF spokesperson Mbuyi- seni Ndlozi said the act, which was essentially an apartheid law that wasn't amended by the ANC government, was historically used in the 1960s to put many liberation fighters behind bars, including the Rivonia Trial accused.
“The ANC government says Julius Malema has contravened this act by saying to our people, on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the Freedom Charter, they have the right to occupy land wherever they choose.
“This is a quotation from the Freedom Charter, which states that all shall have the right to occupy land wherever they choose. In essence, he is charged for speaking about the Freedom Charter,” Ndlozi said.