Judgment was handed down today in the assault case involving EFF leader Julius Malema and member of parliament Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. The pair were found not guilty.

The Economic Freedom Fighters pair was involved in a scuffle with Lieutenant Colonel Johannes Jacobus Venter during the funeral of struggle stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela at the Fourways Memorial Park in 2018.

The common assault case against the duo was postponed on numerous occasions, but today, magistrate Leiland Poonsamy finally delivered judgement in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.

The Citizen reported that Poonsamy stated that Malema and Ndlozi ‘successfully raised the defence of justification’.

“Their version was concise and they did not crack during cross-examination. They did not hesitate to give answers [and] their oral evidence in plea-explanation is precise. They stood by their version and did not deviate in any manner. They successfully proved that they were acting in justification,” he said.

EFF supporters were outside the court, united in song, to show their support to both Malema and Ndlozi.

There was video footage of the event, but magistrate Leiland Poonsamy earlier on in the trial heard arguments from the complainant and the accused about the credibility of witnesses and the video footage as evidence.

Argument was also made from precedent that even minimal touching can count as assault, so the pushing that the pair are accused of can be seen to be assault.

Malema testified at length and was made to answer questions as the courtroom watched the video again and again.

He argued he was justified to enter the memorial in 2018, and Venter was wrong to bar them entry because their vehicle did not have the authorisation sticker on the front that other vehicles had.

“I just wanted to bury my mother,” Malema said when quizzed about what led to the incident and how he stepped out of the vehicle so Venter could see who he was. “Afriforum are out to get me,” he said at the time, referring to their support for Venter’s case. “They have turned this into a political thing.”