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Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, EFF MP, appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court today for allegedly assaulting Johannes Venter, an SAPS colonel.
AfriForum announced in July 2019 that the organisation had approached the court with a mandamus application to force the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to decide whether to prosecute Malema in this and two other pending cases against him.
Malema and Ndlozi allegedly assaulted Venter in April 2018 during an incident that was recorded on CCTV. The senior police officer laid a complaint with the police, but the police failed to attend to the complaint until AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit made enquiries into the investigation in January 2019.
Deon Klingbiel, a former employee at the cemetery where the incident occurred, testified today on how the CCTV footage was stored. Klingbiel also testified that he had to provide the police with the CCTV footage more than once because the case dossier had seemingly disappeared.
Col. James Bronkhorst, a police officer involved in the police’s internal investigation into the incident, also testified today that, according to him, Venter had managed the situation correctly by stopping Malema’s car to ensure that the necessary safety measures at the funeral of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela had been complied with. Malema alleges that Venter attempted to keep him from attending the funeral.
“We often see that politicians like Malema view themselves as above the law. This cannot be tolerated. What is very alarming, however, is that the case had received no attention before AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit became involved,” says Ernst Roets, AfriForum’s Head of Policy and Action.
AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit will continue to monitor the case in the interest of justice. The hearing will continue tomorrow (10 March 2021).
Issued by AfriForum
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