DA lays incitement charges against EFF’s Malema and Paulsen 

12 October 2020

Note to Editors: Please find the attached soundbite  and video by Natasha Mazzone MP, Chief Whip of the Official Opposition. Pictures can be found here, here , here and here

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today laid criminal charges at the Cape Town Central Police station against the EFF leader, Julius Malema, and EFF Member of Parliament, Nazier Paulsen, over social media posts that incite violence.

These charges follow tweets by Malema this past week which state “Magwala a chechele morago! (Cowards move to the back) Fighters attack!” and a picture of a machine gun. His initial tweet was followed by a post by Paulsen which included a picture of him with a machine gun captioned “Get ready!”.

The DA strongly condemns this reckless attempt by the EFF leadership to further violence at this increasingly delicate time in South Africa’s democratic dispensation.

We have already seen numerous posts over the weekend of EFF followers posting pictures of guns and firing shots in videos in support of Malema’s utterances.

The EFF is showing its true colours. Malema and his thugs have no regard for the rule of law, their only contribution to the South African political landscape has been chaos, violence and a clear attempt to destroy democratic institutions.

The DA has already referred both Malema and Paulsen to Parliament’s Ethics Committee to request an investigation for these inflammatory utterances which are a serious offense of their Oath of Office.

The South African Police Services (SAPS) can no longer sit on its hands and ignore Malema’s violence. Especially in light of the swift action and vigor in which the police pursued the alleged instigator of the violence at Senekal.

The ball is now in Parliament and the police’s court to hold Malema and his band of quasi revolutionaries to account for their brazen incitement of violence. For too long the EFF has gotten away with this kind of behaviour, which has made them increasingly emboldened to say and do what they want.

Issued by Natasha Mazzone, Chief Whip of the Official Opposition, 12 October 2020