EFF condemns 'mindless attacks' on judiciary

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on Thursday condemned “the mindless and myopic attacks on the judiciary” by the African National Congress (ANC) following the high court ruling in Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir’s case.

The party also said that contempt of court charges should be considered against Police Minister Nathi Nhleko.

EFF national spokesman Mbuyiseni Quintin Ndlozi said that ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe was quoted as saying‚ “there is a drive in sections of the judiciary to create chaos for government. We know if it doesn’t happen in the Western Cape High Court‚ it will happen in the Northern Gauteng – those are the two benches where you always see that the narrative is totally negative and create a contradiction.”

This was followed‚ said the EFF‚ by the Higher Education Minister Blade Ndzimande who said that‚ “sections of the judiciary tend to somehow overreach into areas that one would expect even in a constitutional state to tread very‚ very carefully”.

Ndlozi said that these were open and irresponsible attacks on the judiciary which obviously considered matters brought in front of it on the basis of laws approved by politicians in Parliament.

The worst of the ANC’s attacks on the court‚ said Ndlozi‚ came from Nhleko who said‚ “some elements of the judiciary meet with characters to produce certain judgments“.

“This is not only questioning the integrity of our judges‚ it borders on contempt of court. The EFF calls on the judiciary to actually consider charging Nhleko of contempt of court ….”

Ndlozi said: “If the ANC understood its duty in the continent and if they knew what joining the ICC entails‚ they should have taken steps to withdraw from it.

“The EFF will never celebrate the advancement of the African agenda at the expense of our own hard won democracy ... The day court orders are undermined by those in power is the day we fully usher in dictatorship and autocracy.”