Pretoria - The 26 Black First Land First (BLF) members who were arrested after they stormed the public protector’s office and allegedly held some of her staff hostage on Mandela Day were on Tuesday granted bail.
Among the 26 who appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court sitting at Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Services were the movement’s national convener, Andile Mngxitama, national co-ordinator Yerushka Chetty, spokeswoman Lindsay Maasdorp and secretary for political education Ncedisa Mpemnyama.
The group demanded to see Madonsela “about her refusal to act on and investigate cases of corruption against white capitalists like Johann Rupert”. They also demanded that Madonsela investigate “R26 billion allegedly stolen by white capitalists from the public”.
They also wanted the public protector to address the “complaint of state capture by white capitalists, including that of Rupert, lodged with her office in March this year”.
They were charged with intimidation, common assault and trespassing.
Magistrate David Shikwambana granted the group R500 bail each and postponed the matter to August 12.
State prosecutor Soneni Mnguni said the accused forced their way into the public protector’s office in Hillcrest on Mandela Day. “The accused are said to have forced their way into the offices of Thuli Madonsela, and demanded to see her,” Mnguni told the court.
“Police had to force their way into the building because the accused had barricaded the door. Two of them allegedly kept the security guards hostage.”
Asked by Shikwambana whether more members of the movement fled the scene, Mnguni said he was not certain. “The accused are said to have been there to demand an explanation for the figure of R26 billion - I am not sure what it is in connection with,” he said.
However, the group, through their legal representative, denied the accusations. “They went to the public protector’s office to negotiate with her. They didn’t force their way into the building, nor did they hold anyone hostage,” said their legal representative.
“When they arrived there, they were told that the public protector was not there and they said they would wait for her to return. They didn’t hurt anyone, nor did they run when the police arrived even though the police were under the impression a robbery was taking place,” he said.
Before granting the 26 bail, Shikwambana reprimanded the BLF members and told them that their actions would not be tolerated.
A statement by the public prosecutor’s office, a day after the incident, said the “bunch of rascals” demanded to see Madonsela.
At the time, Madonsela was attending a Mandela Day event in Joburg. The public protector believes that such an illegal, violent act, which allegedly included intimidation of staff and taking at least four of them hostage, “should be condemned in the strongest possible terms by all those committed to constitutional democracy and the rule of law”, the statement said.
“The unruly group are not complainants in the matter provided as a basis for their actions but have recently started enquiring about an investigation lodged by advocate Paul Hoffman, of the Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa.”
Hoffman, as the complainant, is kept abreast of developments. Madonsela said the investigation could not look into any apartheid crime of theft or any other as that would fall “outside the jurisdiction of the public protector”.
Pretoria News