* Malema to face graft charges
* Supporters say case is politically motivated
* Supporters plan show of force at court
(Changes dateline, adds vigil by Malema supporters)
By Jon Herskovitz
POLOKWANE, South Africa, Sept 25 (Reuters) – ANC rebel
Julius Malema, South African President Jacob Zuma’s most
prominent critic and an advocate of mining nationalisation,
appears in court on Wednesday on corruption charges that his
supporters say are politically motivated.
Police said they would close roads for the hearing on
Wednesday around the courthouse in Polokwane, the provincial
capital of Malema’s native Limpopo, 350 km (220 miles) north of
Johannesburg, for one of the biggest trials since the end of
apartheid in 1994.
“No lawlessness will be tolerated and those who break the
law will be arrested immediately,” police said in a statement
issued before Malema’s supporters began a night vigil on
Tuesday.
An arrest warrant was issued last week for the former ANC
Youth League leader, with local media saying he was facing
charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering in the
awarding of government contracts in Limpopo.
The hearing on Wednesday is expected to last only a few
minutes with prosecutors reading out the charges against him.
The court is then likely to release him on bail.
Continued…
