EFF leader Julius Malema. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema and his bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, claim there is insufficient evidence to prosecute them for allegedly firing an assault rifle during the EFF’s birthday celebrations in 2018.
Malema appeared alongside Snyman in the East London magistrate’s court on Wednesday and both defence advocates said they intended to file an application to dismiss the case for a lack of evidence.
This comes after three state witnesses who testified last week were found to have left out key information regarding the investigation.
The EFF said this indicates that the state did not have a case against its leader or his bodyguard.
The case was brought by civil rights group AfriForum in 2018 after a video showed Malema firing what appeared to be an assault rifle — ostensibly handed to him by Snyman — in front of a packed crowd at the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebration at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in the Eastern Cape.
AfriForum has accused Malema of putting lives in danger by firing a gun in a populated area, while Snyman is accused of handing Malema the rifle.
They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In arguing statements, Malema’s advocate, Laurence Hodes, said the video capturing the alleged incident showed that it was “impossible” for the bullet cartridge to have landed where a cleaner later found it.
Hodes added that according to testimonies from the police’s VIP Protection Unit, they had not seen Malema pointing anything upwards, nor were there fingerprints that linked Malema to the firearm or the cartridge.
“The state’s case is just not improbable, it is impossible,” said Hodes.
Malema faces charges that include reckless endangerment to people or property, while Snyman faces two charges under the Firearms Controls Act for providing the gun.
Snyman’s advocate, Shane Matthews, reiterated that the state did not have a case against his client, adding that no witnesses said Snyman handed Malema a firearm.
“We will see if the state can stand up here today and produce any evidence that [Snyman] handed the firearm to [Malema],” Matthews said.
Malema has previously said that the shooting was a simulation and part of the celebration.
The EFF has welcomed the announcement by Malema’s defence team to apply for the dismissal. Spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said the party was positive about the pending outcome.
“It shows that there isn’t actually any case that can be heard, so we’ve made the application, and we hope that it will be successful. We are confident that if the judge is also following the proceedings as we are, she’ll dismiss it,” Thambo said.
The case has been postponed to 19 October.
In a separate incident, Malema may also be charged with animal cruelty by the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA).
In July, a video on social media showed Malema trying to slaughter a cow as part of the EFF’s tenth anniversary celebrations.He inflicted 11 stab wounds on the cow, and twisted the knife more than 60 times “into the fully conscious animal’s poll [a point behind or between the ears],” according to the NSPCA.