Constitutional Court dismisses EFF’s sixth desperate application for leave to appeal in AfriForum land invasion case with cost
The Constitutional Court today dismissed Julius Malema and the EFF’s application for leave to appeal against an interdict which AfriForum acquired in 2017, which prohibited Malema and the EFF from inciting people to trespass on private property and to illegally occupy it. This is the sixth loss for Malema and the EFF in this same matter and there remain no further legal avenues for a seventh attempt. The EFF are now required to pay all the remaining costs it owes AfriForum for the past six years of court battles in this same case, with interest. Even though the EFF have paid some of the cost orders to AfriForum, the current outstanding amount still stands at approximately R215 000. Interest must also be paid on this amount from 2018 to date. The EFF will also have to pay the latest cost orders of the Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court once it has been taxed.
The EFF’s first loss was the interdict being granted by default because Malema’s attorneys did not show up in court in 2017. Second, Malema’s rescission application was dismissed with costs. Third, Judge Mabusa of the High Court dismissed the EFF’s application for leave to appeal. Fourth, the Constitutional Court dismissed the EFF’s application for direct access and appeal. Fifth, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal because there are no prospects of success. Now, finally, the Constitutional Court has handed the EFF a sixth and final loss in this matter, effectively putting it to bed. It is now established law that incitement to trespass and invade land is a serious crime and if the EFF commit this crime in the future, they will be guilty of contempt of court.
“The EFF’s hubris, desire to incite lawlessness and their love of frivolous court battles has come at a high price for them in the end. The time for games is now over. The EFF will now have to pay the money they owe AfriForum,” says Ernst van Zyl, Head of Public Relations at AfriForum.
“The implications of Malema and the EFF’s intense desperation, six failed attempts to be exact, to have this land invasion judgment overturned, are disturbing. Why is the EFF so determined to be able to incite lawlessness and criminality? Maybe, because these defeats to AfriForum have thrown a serious spanner into the works for what they had planned,” Van Zyl concludes.
