South African court throws out Malema corruption case

A judge threw out corruption charges against South African opposition leader Julius Malema on Tuesday, a ruling hailed as a major victory for Malema, a vocal critic of President Jacob Zuma.

Malema had been accused of money laundering, racketeering and fraud relating to government contracts. But Judge George Mothle said Malema had waited too long for his trial after a string of postponements, and told him: "You are free to go."

The National Prosecuting Authority, a body empowered to carry out prosecutions on behalf of the state, said the judge’s move did not constitute an acquittal and the action against Malema could be revived at a later date.

But some observers said the outcome was an embarrassment for the South African government. It showed the state's "general incompetence to assemble a case," said political analyst Nic Borain. "If this was a conspiracy to besmirch Malema's name, it looks like it was carried out very poorly."

Malema, once a leading figure in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), had dismissed the charges as a government conspiracy to silence and discredit him. "I stand in front of you, an innocent man," Malema told journalists and supporters outside the Polokwane High Court in his northern home province of Limpopo on Tuesday. "There are no allegations whatsoever, but I know, because we are dealing with dogs, they are going to manufacture something new. They are free to do that."

Malema was expelled from the ANC in 2012 for bringing the party into disrepute after several incidents attracted unwanted international attention to his behavior. One incident involved the reprimanding of a BBC journalist at a press conference, another saw Malema endorse Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe during a state visit.

The expulsion from the ANC represented one of the biggest fractures in the party that dominates South African politics.

Speaking to the media outside the court where a large crowd of his supporters danced and sang in celebration, Malema said he was ready to fight on through the courts.

"If they want to bring it, let them bring it afresh — I am not scared of them," he said.

He now heads the Economic Freedom Fighters, the second largest opposition party, which positions itself as a champion for impoverished blacks whose lives have changed little since Apartheid ended in 1994. Malema has been a frequent critic of the Zuma government’s alleged corruption.

NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku would not comment on whether the state would attempt to reinstate the corruption charges against Malema.

"This is not an acquittal, the matter was just struck off the roll, the department of public prosecutions can be approached to reinstate the matter," NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku told the ENCA television channel.

The charges against Malema and business associates related to a government contract worth $4 million awarded by a provincial department to a company in which Malema held a stake through his family trust. The contract was for the construction of roads in Malema's home region, and he was accused of improperly receiving the cash for the contract.

Malema, who once headed the ANC's powerful youth wing and played a pivotal part in Zuma's rise to power, has urged the president to pay back millions of dollars of state funds spent on renovating his home.

Al Jazeera and wire services