PA leader and Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie says he is waiting for the East London magistrate’s court judgement in the case of EFF leader Julius Malema, and has warned that if Malema is found guilty, there should be no continued targeting of him.
Speaking during a live broadcast on Monday night, McKenzie said, “If they say guilty, then please you must leave Malema alone, he is my fellow bantinti.
”I will not allow you guys to go for my bantinti alliance. Malema and I will be the Bantinti Alliance.”
The word bantinti is township slang for a jailbird, someone who has served time in prison.
McKenzie, who has openly spoken about his own criminal past, used the term to express solidarity with Malema, the EFF leader facing a possible conviction under the Firearms Control Act.
McKenzie has frequently clashed with Malema, once declaring in a Facebook Live: “Do you know what Malema and I have in common? We are both bank robbers. He was VBS. We are ex‑criminal colleagues. I used to rob banks; he is robbing banks too.”
The case relates to an incident at the EFF’s fifth birthday rally in Mdantsane in 2018, where Malema allegedly fired a rifle into the air.
The Economic Freedom Fighters maintain that the rifle was a prop firing blanks. Video footage shown in court appears to show Malema firing shots after being handed the rifle by his former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, who is also charged.
The charges stem from a complaint by lobby group AfriForum, with the prosecution arguing Malema endangered thousands of supporters. Both Malema and Snyman pleaded not guilty, and a bid to dismiss the case for lack of evidence was rejected.
Legal expert Ulrich Roux said if Malema is found guilty of unlawfully discharging a firearm in public, he could face up to three years’ imprisonment, potentially with part of the sentence suspended. The unlawful possession charge alone could carry a longer sentence, but the specific firearm may not qualify as semi-automatic, which affects sentencing minimums, he said.
Judgment proceedings are continuing.
Politics
