EFF leader Julius Malema says the party has begun legal action to ensure Collins Khosa’s family – and others who, like him, were killed by members of South Africa’s security forces during the secession period – are compensated.
“We never wanted to tell the story, but we’re going to do it today. There are many other stories that the EFF knows but that we are not kicking about. We met with the [Khosa] family and arranged for their legal representation so that they could fight the government that killed a black man, ”Malema told a crowd of supporters in front of the US embassy in Pretoria.
“We are now going to sue the government. Forget that report from the army that states that the soldiers are not complicit. These are friends who try to please each other. We will see them in an impartial court. They are going to pay this family. “
Khosa’s family, including his widow, Nomsa Montsha, joined the demonstration.
Malema undertook to compensate anyone who was injured by the military during the isolation period.
“We have quietly brought together the best legal minds in South Africa to help the family. We ourselves buried for Khosa. We paid the mortuary, we removed the body so that he could be buried at home. We are not with the family today about #BlackLivesMatter. In the EFF, black lives matter every day. ”
Last month, the Supreme Court ordered soldiers, police and Johannesburg metro police involved in Khosa’s alleged assault to be suspended pending an investigation.
The military’s own, internal investigation has blamed those involved in Khosa’s death. Police are still conducting their own investigation.
Monday’s protest kicked off angrily when Malema claimed that the “racist” security officials at the embassy had prevented protesters from kneeling in front of the building.