AfriForum has approached the High Court in Pretoria with a contempt of court application against the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and its leader, Julius Malema, over renewed calls for people to occupy land without the permission of its owners or lawful occupants.
The civil rights organisation alleges that Malema and the EFF have breached a 2017 court order prohibiting them from encouraging, instructing or facilitating unlawful trespassing or occupation of land.
The latest application follows an EFF public lecture at the University of Limpopo in Polokwane, where AfriForum alleges that Malema spoke about young people eventually occupying a farm in Stellenbosch.
AfriForum is asking the court to impose a R500,000 fine on the EFF and sentence Malema to 18 months in prison, or impose another appropriate sanction.
AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said Malema had repeatedly challenged the court order despite previous attempts to have it overturned.
“He fought against this, he lost in the Constitutional Court, he had to pay us costs for that matter. Now he thinks he's above the law, and he just continues to do that,” Kriel said.
The EFF and Malema have previously made several attempts to have the 2017 order overturned, with the matter reaching both the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Court dismissed an application in March 2023, while a subsequent application was also rejected by the Supreme Court of Appeal. A further attempt to have the order set aside was dismissed by the Constitutional Court in September 2023.
Kriel said AfriForum's latest legal action was intended to ensure that court orders are respected and that political parties and individuals are held accountable when they allegedly disregard them.
He added that AfriForum would continue using legal channels to pursue those who violate court orders.