Civil rights initiative AfriForum – whose criminal charges of fraud brought against Julius Malema in 2012 resulted in Malema’s court appearance today – said that South African taxpayers are entitled to Malema being called to account in court for the theft of their tax money as soon as possible.

AfriForum believes that Malema’s case should be separated from that of his co-accused (one of whom has serious health problems) in order to prevent a further postponement of the case.

Nantes Kelder, Head of AfriForum’s Investigation Unit, and Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, attended Malema’s court appearance today.

According to Kriel, AfriForum’s investigations show that there is a strong case against Malema and it is unacceptable that Malema has still not been held accountable in court after three years.

“In view of the fact that Malema falsely claims to serve the interests of the poor, it is of critical importance that his role in looting taxpayers’ funds to finance his lavish lifestyle, should be exposed in court,” Kriel added.

Kriel states that Malema’s slogan, “Pay back the money!”, is equally applicable to Malema, as to President Jacob Zuma.

Issued by AfriForum