JOHANNESBURG-(MaraviPost)-Firebrand South African politician Julius Malema has lost his application to declare the country’s Riotous Assemblies Act unconstitutional.
BBC understands that Malema challenged the constitutionality of the act at the High Court in Pretoria, saying the state was using apartheid-era laws to prosecute him.
This relates to two incidents in which the state accused Malema of inciting violence when he urged supporters of his Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to invade unoccupied land.
A criminal case against the EFF leader was brought by Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum.
Malema had argued that the Riotous Assemblies Act was passed under the apartheid regime to oppress black people including Nelson Mandela, and that it should never be tolerated under a new democratic dispensation.
He also said that the act was used to silence him.
