African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema narrowly escaped a default judgment against him in the “shoot the boer” case after the Equality Court in Johannesburg gave him three more days from Wednesday to catch up with deadlines he missed for the filing of papers, because the case was of national interest.
Judge Collin Lamont said the trial had to go ahead in April, no matter what.
“That is immutable. This is not going to be postponed or crowded out, it is running.”
Lobby group AfriForum lodged a complaint in the Equality Court last year after Malema included the lyrics in political songs sung at events across the country. The group believed it encouraged the murder of farmers and Afrikaners.
The court heard from Malema’s counsel, Mahlape Sello, that there had been confusion over the email address for correspondence sent to Malema’s legal team, hence papers were not filed on time.
The Equality Court usually sits in the magistrate’s court but, was moved to the high court in Johannesburg due to national interest. — Sapa