Julius Malema, South African opposition politician could be facing an arrest if he misses court in May. The politician had been issued an arrest warrant on charges of illegally firing a weapon at a rally in 2018.But the warrant has been deferred until his next court appearance on May 8th.
Prosecution authority spokesperson said Mr. Julius Malema had not presented himself in court as part of the agreement and therefore the warrant was issued since it was standard procedure in such a situation.
Mr. Malema in a cryptic tweet responded to the news by posting a man napping.
Charges against Julius Malema
Julius Malema faced five charges following accusations that he unlawfully discharged a firearm at a rally at Sisa Dukashe stadium in Mdantsane near East London in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.
The charges he’s facing include; unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, discharging a firearm in a built-up area or public place and reckless endangerment of people or property.
His co-accused security official Adriaan Synman also faces charges including; failing to take reasonable action to avoid danger to person or property and providing firearm or ammunition to any person not allowed to possess it.
What happened at the rally?
Video footage captured him firing a rifle in the air during the party rally in Eastern Cape in 2018. Some of the gathering in the stadium had uploaded grainy cell-phone images online in July 2018.
But the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party leader has denied that the gun was real. His supporters said that he used a toy gun. Malema also argued that the gunfire sounding noise was just fireworks being fired off during the celebration.
The NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) has brushed off the statement. The video footage could be the only basis for their argument and the only witness account they might have.
Other cases on Malema.
this is not the first time Mr. Malema has been involved in such a legal case. The politician is facing other charges in Newcastle, northern KwaZulu-Natal and Bloemfontein both relating to comments he made concerning land.
Malema and his EFF party spokesperson, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi were in Randburg Magistrate’s Court in November last year facing assault charges. This happened after they were said to have assaulted a police officer at Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s funeral in April 2018.
He has also been accused to have benefited from the looted money from VBS Mutual Bank. The money that is said to have built his R5 million mansion in Sandton.
South Africans are now waiting on the day that Mr. Malema is scheduled to appear in court in May. His supporters can only hope that he does not fail to report for the second time. Until then, let’s hope that the opposition politician does not get himself into trouble with the authorities again.
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