IT seems EFF leader Julius Malema is getting preferential treatment from the court in his firearm discharge trial.
This was the view of lobby group AfriForum, after the case was postponed in the East London Regional Court on Monday, 5 September.
Malema and his bodyguard and co-accused, Adriaan Snyman, face five charges, including unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition, and discharging of a firearm in a built-up area.
AfriForum spokesman Jacques Broodryk said he believed Malema was treated softly because of his political influence.
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“That’s exactly why AfriForum took on this case in the first place, because this is what we suspected would happen,” he said.
Broodryk said his organisation would continue to fight the case and ensure that justice was served.
He said the case had been dragging on for four years, and has to come to finality.
“I can assure you that if it was you or me or any ordinary citizen who fired the shots into the air the same way he did, we would have already finished serving jail time. Unfortunately, it seems Malema, because he is an influential politician, is getting away from responding to this case continuously,” he said.
Malema and Snyman pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The rifle belongs to Snyman.
They applied for a postponement in absentia because their lawyer, Advocate Laurence Hodes, is attending the Life Esidimeni matter and could not make it to court.
The state did not oppose the application, and the trial has now been set from 30 January to 3 February next year.
When he appeared in court in March, Malema admitted through Hodes that he fired the gun during his party’s fifth birthday at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane in July 2018.
However, Hodes said the gun was a mere toy.
