The Economic Freedom Fighters has come out guns blazing, strongly condemning the Helen Suzman Foundation for the court application it lodged on Thursday seeking an assessment of Julius Malema’s suitability for the seat he occupies in Judicial Service Commission.
According to court papers filed in the Western Cape High Court, the foundation argues that Parliament has a constitutional obligation to determine whether Malema remains fit and proper to continue serving on the JSC. The foundation cites the EFF leader’s criticism of members of the judiciary as evidence of undermining the integrity and independence of the courts.
‘Political motive’
In a statement posted on X, the EFF characterised the foundation’s court action as “politically motivated”.
“This application is a dangerous and dishonest attempt to redefine democratic criticism as constitutional misconduct,” the party said.
“The implication advanced by the Helen Suzman Foundation is that members of Parliament who hold strong views about the judiciary, particularly views critical of judges or judicial outcomes, should be excluded from constitutional oversight bodies. Such reasoning is fundamentally anti-democratic and seeks to impose an artificial culture of silence around institutions that exercise immense political and constitutional power.”
Malema’s sentence
The foundation further cites Malema’s recent five-year prison sentence for discharging a firearm at a rally in 2018.
“Mr Malema thus sits on the body that appoints our judges, while at the same time maligns and undermines their credibility when they apply the law against him. The credibility of the judiciary is critical in a constitutional democracy,” the foundation said in the court papers.
‘Ramaphosa defenders’
The EFF questioned the timing of the foundation’s litigation, saying that the foundation had been silent about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala’s scandal but now had to launch a court bid to deflect attention from the president’s raging scandal.
“Faced with deepening economic collapse, unemployment , worsening poverty and unresolved corruption scandals, Ramaphosa’s defenders seek to manufacture constitutional outrage against Julius Malema and the EFF in order to silence the most consistent voice of opposition in South Africa,” said the EFF.
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- The Economic Freedom Fighters has come out guns blazing, strongly condemning the Helen Suzman Foundation for the court application it lodged on Thursday seeking an assessment of Julius Malema’s suitability for the seat he occupies in Judicial Service Commission.
- According to court papers filed in the Western Cape High Court, the foundation argues that Parliament has a constitutional obligation to determine whether Malema remains fit and proper to continue serving on the JSC.
- The foundation cites the EFF leader’s criticism of members of the judiciary as evidence of undermining the integrity and independence of the courts.
- ‘Political motive’ In a statement posted on X, the EFF characterised the foundation’s court action as “politically motivated”.
- “This application is a dangerous and dishonest attempt to redefine democratic criticism as constitutional misconduct,” the party said.
