'You brought me here wrongly': Malema lashes out at State advocate

PRETORIA - Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has lashed out at the prosecution in his firearm discharge case, accusing State advocate Joel Cesar of bringing him to court wrongly.

Malema and security official Adriaan Snyman are on trial in the East London Magistrates Court on charges related to the former’s alleged firing of a live weapon, which the latter has accused of giving him at his party’s fifth anniversary celebrations at Mdantsane’s Sisa Dukashe Stadium in 2018.

The defence maintains it was a toy gun, though.

On Thursday, Malema took the stand in his defence and was under cross-examination by Cesar, who put it to him that had he discussed the demonstration with the Joint Operations Centre managing the event beforehand, he wouldn’t be in court now.

"No, you brought me wrongly here and you know that. Either you want to build your career using my name and destroy my reputation and destroy the future of my children and my wife. You know very well that you brought me here wrongly."

Malema insists he did nothing wrong.

"I possessed a toy. It requires no licence, nobody’s permission for me to use at any time. If that was required I would have complied with the law."