EFF leader Julius Malema at the Randburg Magistrates Court on Tuesday. He is accused of assaulting a police officer in 2018. Picture Neil McCartney
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi are back in the dock at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday in their assault case.
Malema and Ndlozi’s case had experienced a number of delays in light of the Covid-19 pandemic after it had been postponed both in June and September.
Malema had taken issue with being asked to appear in court for a postponement last month, saying that it was unnecessary for the two to go to court for the matter to be postponed.
The two are accused of assaulting a police officer at the funeral of struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in 2018 and they have been charged with common assault.
Reports suggested that the scuffle between three senior EFF leaders and a police officer breakout after they were allegedly denied entry into the Fourways Memorial Park, where the struggle stalwart was laid to rest.
It was alleged that Malema said “no white person can stop me”, and was eventually granted entry.
In 2019, when they first appeared in court, Malema and Ndlozi denied assaulting the officer.
“I’ve never done that. If I laid a hand on him, I would have panelbeated him. I don’t play when I lay a hand. I didn’t do that. Mbuyiseni didn’t do that. All we were fighting for was to enter the cemetery and go to bury our mother,” Malema said when addressing a crowd outside court.
Firearm discharge case
In a separate case, Malema and co-accused Adriaan Snyman must appear again in January 2021 in the East London Magistrate’s Court in Eastern Cape on charges of discharging a firearm in public.
Malema is facing five charges, including the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharging a firearm in a built-up area or public space and reckless endangerment to person or property, while Snyman faces two charges.
In 2018, Malema was captured on camera allegedly discharging what appeared to be an automatic assault rifle at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane, East London, at the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations.
According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani, the case was postponed to 15 January 2021 for pre-trial hearing.
Additional reporting from Makhosandile Zulu and News24 Wire
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