AfriForum asks court to find Julius Malema and EFF in contempt over land calls

AfriForum has lodged a contempt of court application against the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and its leader, Julius Malema, asking the Pretoria High Court to impose a R500,000 fine on the party and an 18‑month prison sentence on Malema for repeated calls to occupy land.

What AfriForum says

AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said the organisation filed the contempt application with the Pretoria High Court on Friday. He stressed that a court order is not a recommendation that can be obeyed at will and accused the EFF and Malema of wilfully ignoring the order.

“The EFF and Malema know exactly what the court order stipulates and have spent years unsuccessfully trying to overturn it,” Kriel said. “They are now wilfully ignoring the order. AfriForum will ensure that they face the consequences of their actions.”

Examples cited in the application

Kriel pointed to recent incidents he says show continued calls to occupy land. He said the most recent was during a public EFF lecture on 23 July at the University of Limpopo in Polokwane, when Malema referred to young people one day occupying a farm in Stellenbosch.

He also cited a post on the EFF’s official X account on 6 April, 2025 that, according to AfriForum, said: “our people must go get the land” and “occupy everywhere where they need to farm and build houses”.

The underlying court order

AfriForum says its contempt application follows a court order issued on 7 March, 2017 and served on the EFF and Malema. According to AfriForum, that order prohibits the EFF and Malema from inciting, instigating, commanding, or procuring any individual to trespass or enter any land without the required permission of the owner or lawful occupant.

Kriel said the EFF and Malema have made several attempts to have the order set aside. AfriForum reported that an application to the Constitutional Court was dismissed in March 2023, the application to the Supreme Court of Appeal failed in June 2023, and a second attempt at the Constitutional Court was dismissed in September 2023. AfriForum said costs orders were awarded in its favour in the resulting judgments.

Comments and reaction

Kriel framed the matter as one of principle. He said AfriForum pursued the matter through the courts because the rule of law must apply to everyone and it cannot be that ordinary citizens are bound by court orders while political parties or leaders disregard them.

“It cannot be that ordinary citizens are bound by court orders, while certain political parties and political leaders regard themselves as above the law and can openly disregard court orders without consequence,” Kriel said.

Political analyst Dr Rene Oosthuizen told AfriForum’s position is broader than the two parties involved, saying repeated calls that appear to contradict an upheld court order raise concerns about respect for the rule of law. She noted the court still has to decide on the contempt application and said: “My main concern with this case is what it says about our democracy if political leaders can challenge the law when it suits them, while ordinary citizens are expected to obey it.”

The EFF and Malema have not commented.