A court in the South African city of East London has issued a warrant of arrest for opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema for failing to appear before it on Monday.
The EFF leader is facing charges of “unlawful possession of a firearm and reckless endangerment” for discharging a rifle during the party’s rally in the East London area of Mdantsane in 2018.
Malema was expected to appear before the East London Magistrate’s Court on Monday, but for some unexplained reason he did not show up.
This left the court with no choice but to issue him with a warrant of arrest which was stayed to 8 May when he is expected to make his next court appearance.
State prosecutors are expected to hand over a video footage to the defence team, showing Malema allegedly discharging the rifle at a rally.
Malema or the EFF have yet to respond to the arrest warrant.
But when the charges were first brought up two years ago, the EFF said that Malema was doing a “simulation act” and “did not use a real gun.”
NM/jn/APA