Pretoria – EFF leader Julius Malema and MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi are expected to return to the Randburg Magistrate’s Court today in Joburg for their common assault case.
The two are accused of assaulting police officer Lieutenant-Colonel Johannes Venter at the funeral of struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in April 2018.
Gauteng spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Phindi Mjonondwane said the trial against the EFF top brass will continue today before the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.
Last month, the assault case was postponed to today for the final State witness to be called.
Venter, who is attached to the Presidential Unit and was in charge of access control on the day, claimed that the two assaulted him while he was still standing in front of the EFF vehicle. He was making a call to the venue operation centre to get further instructions after Malema insisted on entering with a car which he said was not permitted to enter the Fourways Memorial Park Cemetery where icon Madikizela-Mandela was laid to rest.
He said Malema and Ndlozi pushed him several times after he told them they could not drive into the cemetery. Describing it in court, Venter said they pushed him so hard that he fell against the gate of the cemetery.
Video footage of Venter entangled in a scuffle with Malema and Ndlozi was previously shown in court, where the vehicle in which the EFF leaders were being driven in could be seen making its way into the cemetery while the fracas continued before they hopped in.
Defence lawyer Laurence Hodes also previously argued that the vehicle Malema and Ndlozi were travelling in, had the necessary permits to be in the area.
Hodes argued that it was Venter who was the aggressor during a scuffle, using the video evidence submitted to the court to show that two constables who were at the scene held him back in a bid to calm him down.
Malema and Ndlozi have pleaded not guilty.
IOL