Staff Reporter.
EFF leader Julius Malema and EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi are returning to the Randburg magistrate’s court on Tuesday morning.
They are facing of assaulting police officer Colonel Johannes Venter.
The incident happened during the funeral of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in 2018.
Both Malema and Ndlozi pleaded not guilty to the charge of common assault.
The defence counsel for Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and party MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi had moved to discredit aspects of the investigation in their assault case.
The senior counsel for Malema and Ndlozi, Advocate Lawrence Hodes, moved to poke holes in investigator James Bronkhorst’s evidence by pointing out that there was no basis for Johannes Venter to block the two as their car’s accreditation was displayed on the dashboard.
Hodes said that the pair’s vehicle was cleared by security at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto and he asked whether that accreditation would have been valid for the cemetery.
“If the vehicle is accredited and part of the convoy, do you agree with me that your pointsman, Venter, had no authority to stop the vehicle? You’re in the convoy, you are part of the convoy, you have a permit in your car. He had no authority to stop such the car,” said Hodes.
Bronkhorst responded and said: “If that was the condition, I agree.”
Hodes continued his interrogation: “Because such a vehicle couldn’t be stopped by him do you agree?”
“That is correct your worship,” said Bronkhorst, agreeing with what was said to him by Hodes.
The defence has questioned why the protection services unit had concluded the internal investigation without checking whether Malema’s vehicle was accredited or not.
Livestream Video Below:
Video Courtesy of ENCA.