Julius Malema and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi appointed white lawyers because that's the best way to do things in this current system. Please stay with me.

This is illustrated by a scene in the American FX comedy-drama TV series "Atlanta"...

In the season 2 finale of Atlanta, while waiting to procure "emergency passports", the white Jewish man behind the counter tells the protagonist of the series 'Earn', that his cousin is an entertainment lawyer and could be great for Earn's rapper cousin, Paper Boi...

The place goes awkwardly silent when Earn asks "Do you think there’s a black lawyer who’s as good as your cousin?" The Jewish man politely answers yes, but “Black people just don’t have the connections that my cousin has… for systemic reasons.”

The point here is the legal system is less about the law itself than it is about connections. White people, "for systemic reasons" simply have the edge over Black people. White lawyers play golf with each other and with judges on Sundays, that's where "relationships" are forged

One will note often that whenever the EFF goes to court, i.e when it's an institutional matter, the lawyers will be African, whether it's Ngcukaitobi, Mpofu or another Black celebrity Advocate bcos there's not much at stake and it's easy to showcase one's "buy Black" credentials

Now, when one's personal freedom is at stake, it's not exactly the best time to be idealistic - again - "for systematic reasons".

Like Paper Boi tells Earn, his cousin/manager after a meeting with a Black lawyer: "get me a good Jewish lawyer". He knows

It is what it is