Pretoria - Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema’s seat in Parliament is secure, after Sars, in a sudden turn of events, late on Monday withdrew its sequestration application against him.
The provisional sequestration order, which has been hanging over his head since February last year, was also lifted after Sars advocate Nic Maritz said they were withdrawing it as well.
No reasons were given to Pretoria High Court Judge Gregory Wright, but Maritz said it was not a “normal sequestration”.
Earlier the court adjourned for an hour to prepare for sitting into the night to hear legal arguments. This was after Maritz argued through lunch time and well into the afternoon.
When the court resumed late in the afternoon, Maritz, to the surprise of the packed gallery, simply said he had advised his client (Sars) to withdraw the application, as well as the provisional order granted earlier. He gave no explanation and the parties afterwards refused to speak to the media.
The news that Malema was off the hook was met with loud cheers and clapping from his supporters who packed the courtroom.
They chanted “Zuma run away, because we are going to sjambok you”. Outside court, Tumi Mokoena, Malema’s lawyer, said his client was off the hook. “Yes, it is all over. There is no sequestration hanging over his head.”
But Mokoena said Malema was still embroiled in internal appeal proceedings with Sars regarding the about R13.5m the taxman claimed he owed after being reassessed for the 2011/2012 tax year. According to Mokoena, Malema is starting on a clean slate, and he did settle the compromise agreement he reached with Sars last year, in terms of which he had to pay it R7.2m.
“He now owes nothing,” he said.
This agreement was the main point of contention on Monday and the reason why Sars insisted on asking for Malema’s final sequestration. Sars argued at length that the compromise agreement it had reached with Malema was off the table as he was not honest about the source of the funds he used to settle his debt.
In his earlier arguments, Maritz said as far as Sars was concerned, Malema owed it R18m – the amount initially set as his tax debt, before the compromise deal was entered into. This was before the amount was reduced to R7.2m.
Sars was initially adamant that Malema had to be sequestrated, so that it could investigate his financial affairs with the aim of recovering the money owed to it. Maritz said once Malema was sequestrated, Sars would have the necessary “machinery” to try to recover the outstanding money.
Sars said Malema lied about the source of the money used to settle his debt and accused him of trying to get out of paying tax on donations. The sources from which he obtained his funds were also questioned.
Several times Judge Wright questioned Maritz during the morning’s proceedings as to why Sars wanted Malema sequestrated in order to try to recover its tax debt. He said Sars could use the Tax Administration Act to try to secure the money allegedly owed.
“What is the upside in asking for a sequestration order,” the judge wanted to know.
But Maritz said a sequestration order would give Sars more means with which to interrogate him about his assets and it would also be a less costly route. He said Sars did not have “detectives” to go out and search for assets.
Malema sat in court from early in the morning surrounded by his supporters. He was in good spirits and shared jokes, telling the public gallery to get up as the judge was walking in. After hearing that he was off the hook, he just smiled.
He said he had settled his tax debts and claimed that he was being persecuted by the Zuma administration.
An elated Malema spoke to a crowd of a few hundred supporters outside court, saying: “I told you Sars would run out of breath…” He said it was a victory for the country in proving that the judiciary was fairly independent of any political influence.
Clad in a navy blue suit, he said he had “forgiven” Sars for going after him and urged his followers to pay their taxes, as the poor depended on them.
“Sars is not at fault. It must collect taxes and we must all pay,” he said.
Malema said those with a political agenda within Sars were at fault. He urged the new commissioner of Sars to start on a clean slate.
He also took a swipe at the taxman, the ANC and President Jacob Zuma and likened his struggles to that of erstwhile PAC leader Robert Sobukwe.
“I only have one option, and that option is to fight. I am proud we have travelled this journey together… I don’t mind the sequestration. I would launch the branches of EFF and move from village to village and township to township to build a strong alternative for the poor masses,” said Malema.
The crowd, bedecked in red overalls and EFF regalia, listened to Malema as he spoke in Northern Sotho – his home language – and English. The controversial former ANC Youth League leader lashed out at the ANC and Zuma, whom he blamed for orchestrating his sequestration for political reasons.
“We are dealing with a political matter and we believe that we will be the first generation to prove a political conspiracy. This Sars is wrapped in a black, green and gold flag (ANC flag). There’s some invisible hand in our case,” said Malema.
He also used the platform to launch an attack on Zuma over Nkandla. “There’s a man refusing to pay the money. We have paid back the money, Zuma must pay back the money,” said Malema, to much cheering from supporters. “All this is an attack on the struggle for economic freedom. You must never be naive and think this is just an attack on an individual.
“I want to give you an example; the PAC would have been a strong organisation had Sobukwe lived long. They knew that the man to present strong alternative to the ANC even then was Sobukwe…
“Since (his) death, the PAC has been plagued into crisis after crisis because they destroyed that character, which was ready to lead the struggle for land. The attack on the leadership of the EFF is with that purpose of ensuring they destroy all those who matter.”
Pretoria News