JOHANNESBURG – The “incitement” trial of EFF leader Julius Malema is expected to resume in the Newcastle Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Malema will appear on common law charges of incitement to commit a crime.

In June 2016, Malema told supporters in Newcastle to occupy land because it belonged to blacks, and saying whites could not claim ownership of land.

After his last appearance in November 2016, he was released on a warning but then told his supporters to “occupy the land because they have failed to give you the land”.

EXPLAINER: Issues, risks involved in expropriating land

“If it means going to prison for telling you to take the land, so be it. I am not scared of prison because of the land question, but I am scared of prison if I go to prison for corruption. I don’t want to go to prison for corruption, but I want to go to prison for the land,” he told supporters.

“We are not calling for the slaughter of white people – at least for now.”

In a separate case in 2014, at the EFF elective conference in Bloemfontein, Malema told members they should occupy the land, which led to him being charged for the first time under the Riotous Assemblies Act.

READ: Malema files papers challenging constitutionality of Trespass Act

When appearing in court in Bloemfontein on those charges in 2016, he again told supporters who had gathered outside the court to take any “beautiful piece of land” they saw because it was taken from blacks “by genocide”.

Malema’s legal team is disputing the constitutionality of the Riotous Assembly Act. The EFF has accused the State of using “apartheid-era laws” to try to silence its critics.

African News Agency

Port Elizabeth – The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has filed a notice of intent to bring a motion of no confidence in Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Athol Trollip.

The notice, dated March 14, is signed by EFF councillor Zilindile Vena and Yolisa Yako.

It calls for a special council sitting of council on March 29.

In the notice letter, Vena wrote that Trollip and the DA in the city “blatantly disregard and fail to prioritise the poor people”. 

The EFF wrote that Trollip failed to champion the plight of the poor by allowing the DA to attempt to remove informal traders from the streets.

“His (Trollip’s) failure to act in such instances speaks volumes,” the notice reads. 

The EFF went on to accuse Trollip of redirecting money, aimed at tarring roads in various wards, to use towards Ironman 40km stretch roads.

Also read: Why the EFF is dumping DA for ANC

“Under his leadership, people who were desperate for houses and land were inhumanely removed from land they had invaded. Trollip has showed this council on occasion, that he does not believe that women can lead by constantly pushing a narrow backward and patriarchal agenda every chance he gets.”

The EFF alleged that Trollip subscribed to politics of nepotism and Vena added that Trollip demonstrated this when he attempted to appoint a personal friend to the board of the Mandela Bay Development Agency. 

“It is therefore for that reason that we believe he is not fit to hold that powerful office.”

EFF leader Julius Malema last month promised that the party would table a motion of no confidence in Trollip as “punishment” for the DA’s stance on land expropriation without compensation.

Malema however, said the two other DA-governed Gauteng metros, Johannesburg and Tshwane, were safe for now.

In a move that may have sealed his fate with the EFF, Trollip wrote an open letter to Malema, accusing him of using the motion to pay penance to the ANC and gain its favour. 

“This looks much like a peace penance and perhaps the path back into the party fold that you once swore never to leave,” he wrote.

Read it here:  Dear Julius, nobody here wants to ‘cut the throat of my whiteness’

In his support for the ANC to take over the city, Malema had earlier proposed that the ANC nominate former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas for Trollip’s position.

During a media briefing at Luthuli House on Wednesday, ANC secretary general Ace Magashule also told journalists that the ANC leadership would travel to the Eastern Cape to discuss matters related to an appeal against the elected PEC. 

News24 understands that the delegation will also meet with the PEC to discuss Trollip’s successor. 

As it stands, the DA will have 59 votes along with its remaining coalition partners – the ACDP and Cope – come April 6, when the EFF is scheduled to table its motion.

The EFF and its likely partners – the ANC, United Democratic Movement (UDM), African Independent Congress and Patriotic Alliance (PA) – will have 61 votes, which would send Trollip packing.

Last year, Trollip was saved by the EFF when a motion of no confidence in him was tabled by the PA, seconded by ousted deputy mayor and Trollip’s nemesis, Mongameli Bobani of the UDM.

Cracks in the DA-led coalition started to show shortly after the August 2016 elections, with Bobani and Trollip fighting over the administration of the municipality.

Trollip later fired Bobani as his deputy.

RUSTENBURG – No train hijacking has been officially reported, the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) said on Wednesday.

The regulator said that it noted with concern the claims made by the United Transport Movement and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) regarding the Metrorail train hijackings.

“To date, the events in question has not been reported officially by Prasa to the RSR. It is the responsibility of operators to report railway occurrences and incidents to the RSR. The reporting of security incidents to the RSR by the railway operators is provided for in the South African National Standards (SANS 3000-1:2009 Edition 2 under SANS Category 4 – Hijacking of trains),” said spokesperson Madelein Williams.

Williams said the last train hijacking was reported to the RSR in January 2012. 

Metrorail suspends Mamelodi service after attacks https://t.co/iKmqjqLWHe

— eNCA (@eNCA) March 14, 2018

“Our records show that the driver of a Metrorail train was threatened with a knife by two males who boarded the train at Duff’s Road in KwaZulu-Natal at 8.50pm, forcing him to drive to Phoenix which was not his original route. On arrival at Phoenix, the driver applied the emergency brake and jumped off the train. The two males also got off the train at Phoenix and fled.”

The United Transport Movement on Tuesday said trains were hijacked or robbed every week by commuters who become frustrated when trains run late or criminals robbing crews and passengers. 

“Commuters get furious and they simply point a gun at a train driver and force him either by throwing stones or with a knife or a gun to continue on a route,” spokesperson Sonja Carstens said.

The union said the Railway Safety Regulator allowed Prasa to operate trains with manual authorisation if they drive below 30 km/h‚ which contributed to delays.

A manual authorisation was when the two control officers in different stations are not speaking to each other and allow train drivers to continue en route.

The Rail Safety Regulator said manual train authorisations were an accepted international practice for all train operators during degraded modes of operation, for example, signal failures. 

“The RSR would like to highlight that there is no link between manual authorisations and train hijackings. The speed limit during manual authorisation has been in place since February 2013, following an accident between two Metrorail trains which collided between Cor Delfos and Kalafong Stations on 31 January 2013.”

The regulator said at the time, a directive was issued restricting the maximum speed at which a train may be authorised to travel during degraded modes operation to 30km/h.

“The RSR would like to reiterate that manual authorisation is a fall back procedure. However, in Prasa’s case manual authorisation has become the norm instead of the exception due to the high rate of vandalism and theft of safety critical equipment, such as signal and telecommunications equipment.”

African News Agency

Cape Town – President Jacob Zuma spent R15.3m on legal fees during his nine-year so-called “spy tapes” challenge, according to a letter by the state attorney on Tuesday.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane on Wednesday confirmed that he had received a letter from the state attorney’s office in Cape Town that confirmed the amount.

The DA approached the Western Cape High Court in November to compel Zuma to reveal how much he had spent on the case as president, after he failed to answer the question in Parliament.

The state attorney said the office was instructed by new President Cyril Ramaphosa to provide the details after having considered the court approach.

“We are instructed to inform you that since May 1, 2009 an amount of R15 300 250 was incurred by the Presidency on legal costs pertaining to the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision to decline to prosecute former president Zuma on charges of fraud, corruption and racketeering.”

Ramaphosa will convey the information to the National Assembly in due course, the letter said.

Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema is to ask Ramaphosa, during his first question session on Wednesday, how much Zuma spent on all legal costs during his nine years as president.

Zuma must pay back the money

Maimane said Zuma was now liable to pay back the money, because the spy tapes case was against him in his personal capacity, and before he was president.

“He [Zuma] was not a respondent in that case in his capacity as president of the Republic of South Africa.

“As such, this amounts to R15.3m of irregular spending by the government to keep Jacob Zuma out of jail.

“Therefore, Jacob Zuma must personally pay back this money. The DA has consulted our legal team and begun the legal process of retrieving every cent of this R15.3m from Jacob Zuma.”

Maimane also called on Ramaphosa to join their legal action to recover the money from Zuma.

“The new president cannot talk tough on corruption and wasteful spending, yet turn a blind eye to this blatant abuse of public funds by Jacob Zuma.

“We will retrieve the people’s money from Jacob Zuma, and he will eventually have his day in court and will have to answer to the 783 counts of fraud, corruption, money-laundering and racketeering against him.”

Malema’s question also asked on what basis the State Attorney’s office justified its spending on Zuma’s cases.

Ramaphosa is due before the House at 15:00 on Wednesday to answer Malema’s and five other questions during his maiden question session as president.