Today was supposed to see Julius Malema get his day in court to face charges relating to money laundering but alas, the case was once more postponed in the High Court in Polokwane.

If you think this one has been dragging on for a while you wouldn’t be wrong, the saga dating all the way back to 2009. In the wake of the postponement Malema was in fine voice, these quotes below from News24:

“Let me die for my sins… Let me be persecuted for my sins,” Malema said.

“Let me have my day in court. Let me speak for myself. Let my side of the story be heard… I’m not scared.”

Malema said his conscience was clear. He claimed to have never stolen from anyone, adding that he had never even “stolen a pen at school”.

So how about we take a brief run through the history of these charges, casting our minds back to 2009, a time when Malema  and Jacob Zuma could still play in the same room without toys being thrown from cots. This below from TimesLive:

2009

• Julius Malema’s lavish life style begins to raise questions in the media.
• At this point ANC Youth League president Julius Malema owned two multi-million rand homes, flashy cars and a R250,000 watch.
• Malema would later maintain that his only income was from the ANC. That income was about R20,000 a month.

2010

• Malema claims there is a plot to oust him, claiming “Those who own the means of production, and those who think the ANC Youth League will not support them for election and re-election to ANC leadership in 2012, have merged to try and discredit the leadership of the youth league.”
• The public protector begins an investigation into the mounting tender scandal.
• SGL Engineering, a company linked to Malema is cleared by the public protector. That said Malema was found to be less than entirely honest – he resigned his directorship of the company in 2009, but had claimed he had resigned from all of his directorships in 2008.

2011

• Afriforum lays charges with the Hawks accusing Malema of corruption, after allegations surface saying Malema was using his family trust to receive money from government tenders.

2012

• Malema is expelled from the ANC.
• A new report by the Public Protector backs Afriforum’s allegations up.
• Malema is charged with money laundering. He is granted R10,000 bail.
• 50 new charges are filed against Malema.
• A farm linked to On Point Engineering is seized.

2013

• Malema’s farm in Limpopo is seized. It would eventually fetch R2.5 million on auction.
• The EFF is founded, with Julius Malema as its commander in chief.
• Malema trial postponed until 2014.

2014

• The case against Malema co-accused business associates is separated from his own.
• “The accused who were discharged from the charges yesterday [Wednesday] faced corruption charges. Malema and another two face racketeering and 52 other counts, including fraud. So we separated the trials,” said National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Nathi Mncube.
• Malema, as leader of the EFF, wins a seat in Parliament as the EFF becomes the third biggest party in government.
• The case is postponed to 2015.

Today’s postponement is only until tomorrow, meaning Juju should get his day in court to tell his side of the story.

What can we take from this? The legal wheels in this country tend to take a while to start spinning, especially in high profile cases such as these.

We would also suggest you enlist the help of some professionals when it comes to handling your personal and business taxes. No one wants to end up on the wrong side of the law, even Juju, so get hold of your friends at Galbraith & Rushby and let them do the hard yards.

Tomorrow promises to be an interesting day to say the least so I’m sure this won’t be the last you hear on the matter.

[sources:timeslive&news24]