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EFF blasts courts ‘captured by white establishment’ following land grabs ruling
The Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled the EFF's appeal had no reasonable prospect of success.
EFF members march in Sandton. Picture: Neil McCartney
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has heavily criticised the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) after the Red Berets’ attempt to appeal a judgment prohibiting the party from inciting illegal land invasions failed.
The EFF approached the appeal court just three months ago after lobby group AfriForum was granted an interdict, dating back to 2017.
However, the SCA this week ruled the EFF’s appeal bid had no reasonable prospect of success.
The court, in its judgment, also stated that there was no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard and dismissed the application with costs.
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The ruling means the EFF and its leader Julius Malema have exhausted all legal avenues to continue to fight the battle.
The Red Berets attempted to appeal AfriForum’s interdict in January this year at the Pretoria High Court, but failed.
Despite this, the party a few weeks later then directly turned to Constitutional Court (ConCourt), where the appeal application was also rejected.
‘Draconian apartheid laws’
Reacting to the latest ruling, the EFF expressed its disatisfaction, saying the judgment “embodied the oppressive nature of draconian apartheid laws”.
The Red Berets accused the SCA of denying the “yearning for rightful land ownership” by making it a criminal offence.
“AfriForum’s pursuit of this interdict is marred by frivolous motives rooted in white supremacists and anti-black ideologies. It has made it abundantly clear how our courts themselves are captured by the white establishment.
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“The SCA has not only unleashed a dormant violence that has festered beneath the surface but also created fertile ground for white supremacist, anti-black extremists like AfriForum to collude with trigger-happy police and security forces,” the EFF said in a statement on Thursday.
The party said it believed the judgment undermined the spirit of the country’s Constitution, but also disregarded the “explicit” provisions included within the legal framework.
“Furthermore, this judgment blatantly contradicts the rich tapestry of historical liberation struggles that have unequivocally recognised the fundamental right of citizens to engage in peaceful protest, including the act of land occupation when conducted in a non-violent manner.”
‘Major win’
Meanwhile, AfriForum said the ruling clearly concluded that incitement to trespass and invade land was a serious crime.
“Even though this fight against the incitement of criminality by thugs is now conclusively over, the question still needs to be asked: Why were Malema and the EFF so intensely desperate to be allowed to incite land invasions?” said Ernst van Zyl, campaign officer for strategy and content at AfriForum.
“This third and final defeat for Malema and the EFF in this important battle is a major win for the right to private property and a devastating loss for those who wish to incite criminality and lawlessness,” Van Zyl added.
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