Courts being used to silence opposition – Malema

EFF leader Julius Malema has warned that the courts were effectively being used to suppress political opposition to the government. There was a danger there, Malema said, adding that EFF detractors had changed the manner of doing battle with the party on the ground and were now using the courts, notes a report in The Citizen. ‘They are using the same apartheid tactics. Apartheid used the physical structures of prisons to lock up those they disagreed with – they use money now. They take you to court and lock you up (using lawsuits).’ He said the courts were ‘willingly or unwillingly’ falling into the trap of silencing freedom of expression and the exercising of political rights, because people who had money ‘can imprison you by imposing a heavy lawsuit on you’. He cautioned courts to be wary of limiting freedom of expression and political rights. Using former President Jacob Zuma as an example, Malema said: ‘If the judges were like they (are) now … Zuma would have been protected and would still be President.’