Civil organizations, including Freedom Under Law, Defend Our Democracy, and the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, are calling for EFF leader Julius Malema’s removal from the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

This comes after Malema’s recent conviction for unlawfully possessing and discharging a firearm in public, which the groups believe makes him unfit to serve on the body responsible for selecting judges.

The organisations highlighted that Julius Malema’s conviction is not an isolated incident, citing previous court rulings, including a hate speech ruling in August and a code of ethics violation in May.

They argue that his comments about the judiciary being racist and his attack on a magistrate undermine the judiciary’s credibility. They believe it’s inappropriate for someone with these views to be involved in selecting judges.

The groups have urged Julius to resign from the JSC. If he refuses, they demand the National Assembly take steps to remove him from the position.

Social media users weighed in:

“He absolutely has to be removed. He should never have been in that position in the first place,” one wrote.

One said: “He must also be removed in parliament. He is a danger to the government.”

Another one said: “He has the right to appeal the racist judgement until Concourt. Don’t celebrate too early.”