Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has called on all South Africans to resist succumbing to \u201cjuvenile and politically motivated insinuations\u201d drawn from the work of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.<\/p>\n
Malema used the EFF\u2019s media briefing on Thursday not only to announce their mayoral candidates and put their campaign manifesto forward, but also to address issues surrounding his name being mentioned at the Commission, and the legal action against the ruling interdicting the Impeachment Committee<\/a>.<\/p>\n Malema came under scrutiny at the Commission after WhatsApp messages<\/a> between suspended Crime Intelligence head Major-General Feroz Khan and tobacco executive Mohamed Sayed were presented as evidence.<\/p>\n According to the WhatsApp messages presented before the commission, Khan allegedly coordinated, through Sayed, a plan with Malema to remove former Inspector-General of Intelligence Setlhomamaru Dintwe. The commission also heard allegations that Khan shared confidential case information with Malema, despite him not being authorised to receive it.<\/p>\n Malema said they reiterate the call for all preliminary findings and interim reports by the Commission to be made public and accessible.<\/p>\n \u201cThose reports do not belong to the president, but belong to the people of South Africa. To handle preliminary findings and reports with secrecy undermines the constitutional principle of transparency, and risks selective and politically motivated conduct as it relates to prosecutions and arrests related to the work of the commission,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EFF calls on all South Africans to resist the urge to succumb to juvenile and politically motivated insinuations drawn from the work of the commission, which are not rooted in any evidence or fact. Despite all attempts to cast doubt over the organisation and its leadership, there’s been no evidence that ties the EFF to any wrongdoing, and this is a fact we remain proud of,\u201d Malema said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe encourage the commission, and its evidence leaders, to rely on evidence and draw from verifiable and credible processes of the law and legal institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that \u201ctabloid journalism, and speculation by media outlets who have proven vendettas, do not constitute evidence,\u201d and using them as evidence only undermines credibility, and turns the Commission \u201cinto a weapon of propaganda\u201d.<\/p>\n He added that he has not been following the testimony of former IDAC head Andrea Johnson as he has been preoccupied with organising rallies.<\/p>\n \u201cI had no privilege of watching, so I will make time, I don’t know when, because it’s going to become more and more and more busy now. We are obsessed with now, running a well-oiled machine towards victory on the 4th of November.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m unable to make that comparison, but even if I watched, I was not going to be in a position to give a comment, as it were, because the Ad-Hoc committee is at an end. We\u2019re writing a report. I can’t give views here and go and give views in the Ad-Hoc committee, especially when we do the final report.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Ad-Hoc committee and Madlanga Commission are not the same thing. They don’t use the same style of investigation, or the same style of interrogation\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality of the situation is that you’re going to have two reports. There’s going to be a Madlanga Commission report, and there’s going to be an Ad-Hoc Committee report,\u201d Malema said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey may not say the same thing…they may say the same thing. They all depend on the facts that were presented and the evidence that was presented before the two entities.\u201d<\/p>\n While answering questions, Malema said that he has made it clear that he knows Khan, but he has not had an opportunity to interact with him.<\/p>\n \u201cI know Khan, and I’ve already made it very clear: I know Khan. He was shot, and then we were told he’s in the hospital, he can’t speak, and all of that. And I left it at that.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I made any call, it was to Mohamed Sayed\u2026that\u2019s the man I called. I said, \u2018What’s happening? Did they really shoot this guy, or what is the story? Because others say he was shot, (while) others say he was not shot.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018No,\u2019 he (Sayed) said… he was shot; that guy is in the hospital\u2026 But I had wrong information when I was speaking to my Mohamed; he had clear, elaborate information of what happened, and so on and so forth. And I left it there,\u201d Malema said.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I couldn’t go and see him. I can’t call him. I can’t do anything until Madlanga has done its work. If there’s anything wrong that Khan has done, the Madlanga Commission must take him on. It’s wrong for that young man of the MK Party<\/a> to say, I prevented Khan from coming to the Ad-Hoc committee. I never did that.\u201d<\/p>\n