Staff Reporter

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema escalated pressure on the justice system recently, demanding the immediate arrest of National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Shamila Batohi.

The demand came during a high-profile march to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) in Johannesburg, where the party protested the dragging investigation into the Phala Phala scandal.

Malema accused Batohi of defeating the ends of justice by failing to prosecute President Cyril Ramaphosa and others implicated in the 2020 theft of foreign currency from the President’s Limpopo farm.

“How can Batohi not arrest Ramaphosa after Ramaphosa accepted that he used dollars,” Malema told the crowd of red-clad supporters who marched from Mary Fitzgerald Square.

He argued that the use of foreign currency by the President on South African soil, and the subsequent handling of the case, undermines the country’s currency and the rule of law.

The march, held on November 28, 2025, primarily targeted the Constitutional Court for its year-long delay in delivering a crucial judgment on the Phala Phala matter.

The EFF is challenging Parliament’s 2022 decision to reject the findings of an independent Section 89 panel, which found prima facie evidence that President Ramaphosa may have violated anti-corruption laws.

EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo stated that the delay violates judicial norms, which typically recommend judgments be delivered within three months.

“The failure by the Constitutional Court to provide this judgement and provide certainty, gives the impression that the President of the Republic of South Africa is above the law,” the party stated in a release leading up to the march.

Malema vowed to lead a similar march every month until the judgment is handed down.

The controversy surrounds the theft of an estimated $580,000 in foreign cash from President Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm.

The matter was brought to light in 2022 by former spy boss Arthur Fraser, who filed a criminal complaint accusing Ramaphosa of concealing the crime.

An independent panel found early evidence suggesting Ramaphosa may have breached ethics and anti-corruption regulations.