adminPolokwane – About 3 000 Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members are expected to picket outside the Limpopo Magistrates Court in Polokwane today when their leader, Julius Malema, goes on trial for fraud and corruption. According to the Sunday Independent, the EFF has apparently been given permission for only 20 people to picket the court, but deputy provincial co-ordinator Jossie Buthane said at least 3 000 members are expected.
Malema, along with business partners Lesiba Gwangwa, Kagisho Dichabe, Helen Moreroa and Makgetsi Manthatha are accused of having fraudulently secured a R52m Limpopo roads and transport department contract in 2009. They each face charges of fraud, corruption, racketeering and money laundering.
Malema is out on R10 000 bail while the others are each out on R40 000 bail. The case is expected to run over two weeks.
Buthane meanwhile said the EFF would hold a vigil over the next two weeks at the Cosmo Leisure Lodge and Conference Centre. He said the party had wanted the Nirvana Hall or Jack Botes Hall but were denied permission by the authorities. He accused the government of trying to shut down the EFF on the grounds that the ANC felt threatened by the new party.
Malema last appeared in court in June after he had announced his intentions to form a new party and to challenge the ANC, his former political party, which had expelled him. He was accompanied only by few friends during his previous appearance. – News24.
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