Malema vows to fight all the way to ConCourt for Mkhwebane
Prior to the judgment being handed down, he had already predicted things would not go their way.
EFF Leader Julius Malema is seen addressing his supporters outside the North Gauteng High Court after the matter between Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, 23 July 2019, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has announced he will take his fight to have President Cyril Ramaphosa implement the remedial action requested by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane in a recent report to the Constitutional Court, if it comes to that.
The matter is currently still before the courts, with a recent interdict in favour of Public Enterprises Minister bringing only temporary relief.
The party said they would be appealing the interdict, however, it’s doubtful they have the legal standing, particularly locus standi, to bring such action.
Malema had predicted that things would not go his way in the ruling handed down on Monday morning, tweeting even before the judgment was handed down: “We are going to ConCourt.”
The ruling saw Gordhan successfully interdicting Mkhwebane’s remedial action against him in her recent report, which found Gordhan guilty of violating the constitution.
On July 15, Malema had filed an intervention application at the High Court in Pretoria that saw him and the EFF joining the case, opposing the interdict alongside Mkhwebane.
READ MORE: Gordhan insulted Mkhwebane, called her ‘legally illiterate’, her lawyer complains
He took to Twitter on Monday morning, responding to two tweets with his ConCourt prediction.
Attempting to take the fight to SA’s apex court may ultimately be necessary after the high court ruled in Gordhan’s favour, finding that his legal team was correct in arguing that the harm to him would be irreparable if the interdict was not granted. However, before the Constitutional Court can be involved, the lower courts would first have to overturn Mkhwebane’s report and its recommendations in their entirety.
Malema’s tweet therefore suggests that he believes that the high court and the appeal court will ultimately also rule in favour of Gordhan.
The public protector report, which resulted from complaints that included one from EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu, found that Gordhan had violated the constitution through his connection to the so-called Sars “rogue unit”, and by allegedly lying to parliament and the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture about meetings with the Gupta family.
Gordhan lodged an urgent application to suspend and interdict the remedial orders by the public protector, citing “improper motives” on her part.
We are going to Concourt
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) July 29, 2019
We are going to Concourt
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) July 29, 2019
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