Statement by Jan de Villiers MP – DA National Spokesperson:
Following his pre-sentencing appearance in the East London Magistrate’s Court on firearm-related convictions, EFF leader Julius Malema launched a tirade against AfriForum and the judiciary, accusing them of using the courts to fight political battles and claiming judicial processes are driven by political hatred.
This claim is false and profoundly irresponsible.
In South Africa, approaching a court is not a political weapon; it is a constitutional right. When an organisation or individual lays charges after the law has been broken, they are exercising one of the most fundamental protections in a constitutional democracy. These are critical rights.
Malema’s threats to “lock up” AfriForum members for using the courts, and to punish people for exercising their rights to free speech and freedom of association, show exactly why those rights must be defended, and why he can never be allowed anywhere near power.
Malema was not convicted because of race, ideology, or political rivalry. He was convicted because evidence was tested in court and the Firearms Control Act was applied to his conduct. That is how accountability works in a country governed by law, not by intimidation or political theatrics.
His attack on the judiciary follows a familiar pattern: when the facts are inconvenient, the institutions are blamed. This rhetoric is not about justice; it is about evading responsibility and mobilising outrage when the legal process does not deliver a preferred outcome.
This is precisely why the Democratic Alliance was right in 2023 to declare that keeping the EFF out of power is a primary objective. One does not need to agree with any association or organisation to defend their fundamental rights. If those rights can be stripped from one group today, they can be stripped from anyone tomorrow.
South Africans are tired of these old tricks. A lawful, stable democracy is built in courtrooms and not threatened from outside them.
Manly Reno
An Afrikaans lady and an English lady are chatting in their yard. After a while, a dog comes and takes a kak on the lawn. The Afrikaans lady points to the dog and says “Kyk!” The English replies “That’s not cake, that’s shit”
Forger
A South African, an Australian and an Englishman are all having a drink
The Englishman and South African both drink from Pint Glasses, the Australian from a bottle.
The South African, upon draining his glass, drops in back down on the bar, pulls out a pistol, and shoots the glass.
\”In South Africa, there is so much sand that I never drink from the same glass twice!\”
The Australian, having drained his bottle, sets it down upon the bar and, upon seizing the South African\’s pistol, shoots his bottle.
\”In Australia, there is so much booze that I never drink from the same brand twice!\”
The Englishman, likewise having drained his glass, sets his glass upon the table, seizes the pistol the pistol from the Australian, and shoots the South African and the Australian, quite dead.
\”In England, there are so many of you bastards that I never drink with the same two twice!\”