EFF leader Julius Malema and his party have paid two of the five court cost orders obtained against them by AfriForum following a second payment of more than R100,000 last week.

AfriForum said that Malema and the EFF had paid R108,960 on Thursday after having paid R126,703 to the civil rights organisation on November 13 last year.    

This meant that they had so far paid more than R235,000 of the estimated R550,000 they owed AfriForum, it said.   

Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, welcomes the further payment.  “AfriForum will use Malema and the EFF’s payments in our court battles to fight attempts to change the country’s constitution to allow for expropriation without compensation.” 

According to AfriForum, the outstanding three cost orders will only be paid later, as two must still be taxed and one is subject to an appeal application brought by Malema and the EFF.

“Because of the two payments that AfriForum has already received from Malema and the EFF, AfriForum will not go ahead with selling at auction the EFF’s assets — which the sheriff has already seized — before the legal processes of the three outstanding cost orders have been finalised,” AfriForum said on Sunday. 

The five cost orders stem from a court case that AfriForum brought against Malema and the EFF to obtain an interdict to prevent them from inciting people to occupy land illegally.

The Northern Gauteng High Court found in AfriForum’s favour on March 7 2017 and granted the interdict with costs. Malema and the EFF then brought an application to have the interdict set aside, which would have been heard on September 12 2017. However, the court had to postpone the case after Malema and the EFF submitted their heads of argument in their own case too late.

The judge consequently granted a punitive cost order against Malema and the EFF. When the case resumed on February 18 2018, Malema and the EFF’s legal representatives failed to appear, and the case was settled in AfriForum’s favour and a further cost order issued against Malema and the EFF. 

“The other two cost orders were issued on November 14 2018 in AfriForum’s favour against Malema and the EFF in two separate cases in the Northern Gauteng High Court,” said AfriForum.

“The payments that Malema and the EFF made to AfriForum this week and on November 13 were to settle cost orders that had been issued on  September 12 2017 and February 18 2018, respectively. Malema and the EFF are currently appealing the interdict that AfriForum obtained against them on 7 March 2017, while the two cost orders of 14 November 2018 must still be assessed.” 

“The first order applies to a case of contempt of court brought by AfriForum against Malema and the EFF, after Malema and the EFF continued to encourage land grabs despite a standing interdict that AfriForum had obtained to prohibit them from inciting people to occupy land.

“Malema and the EFF’s legal team failed to submit their heads of argument in time, which means that the case will have to be heard later. With this, the EFF and Malema incurred yet another cost order against them,” AfriForum said.

“In the second case, the EFF and Malema attempted to obtain an urgent court order to prevent AfriForum from removing and selling the EFF’s property at auction to recover legal costs. The court ruled that Malema and the EFF’s case was not urgent and issued another cost order against Malema and the EFF.

“The payments that Malema and the EFF made to AfriForum this week and on November 13 were to settle cost orders that had been issued on  September 12 2017 and February 18 2018, respectively. Malema and the EFF are currently appealing the interdict that AfriForum obtained against them on 7 March 2017, while the two cost orders of 14 November 2018 must still be assessed.” 

Source: TMG Digital