Shortly after former EFF MP Thembinkosi Rawula resigned from the party, Malema and Shivambu announced intentions to sue him for accusing them of corruption within the party.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and his deputy Floyd Shivambu announced on Wednesday, 10 April 2019, that they were briefing their legal teams to sue former party member of parliament (MP) Thembinkosi Rawula. Malema disclosed that he would be suing to the amount of R1 million, while Shivambu kept mum on the details of his lawsuit against Rawula.
“I am suing [Rawula] for R1 million for saying I stole EFF money, and that is not an EFF issue, it is between me and him. I am taking him to the cleaners. He needs to prove [his allegations],” Malema said.
Thembinkosi Rawula resigned as an MP and from the party on Wednesday, 10 April 2019, after he made headlines accusing the party leaders of corruption. In a long Facebook post, Rawula accused the party leaders of financial mismanagement and accepting donations from VBS Mutual Bank. Through their lawyers, Malema and Shivambu had instructed Rawula to retract his accusations and he refused, saying he would only retract if the pair could produce evidence proving their innocence.
“I wish to record that I will not be retracting any post from social media unless your client provides the following evidence against my claims,” he wrote to the lawyers.
“Please note, not audited reports submitted to Parliament. I want bank account audited statements,” he said.
Responding to the allegations made by Rawula, Malema denied that he had ever confirmed receiving donations from VBS Mutual Bank.
“I have never said the things they say I said about VBS. I made a political overview and spoke extensively about the VBS and its implications. One of the statements I remember saying was that VBS was supposed to be the end of the EFF, the way it was designed,” said Malema.
“If the court says to me, ‘produce the bank statements to prove that you are not taking the EFF money’, I will do that, and I am prepared to be under the lifestyle audit of a credible institution to demonstrate that I take no money of the EFF,” he added.
Abenathi Gqomo
a.gqomo@politicalanalysis.co.za