Carl Niehaus case for ‘breaking’ lockdown rules postponed

Suspended ANC member Carl Niehaus’s case for allegedly violating lockdown regulations back in July has been postponed to November.

Niehaus, 61, on Wednesday appeared in the Estcourt Magistrates’ Court after he failed to pay a fine for the alleged contravention of the Disaster Management Act.

On 8 July, he was arrested by police outside the Estcourt Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal while being interviewed by SABC News. Niehaus was outside the prison to call for the release of jailed former president Jacob Zuma.

WATCH: Carl Niehaus arrested while live on television

At the time, the country was under alert level 4 lockdown and all gatherings were prohibited, except for funerals.

“On the previous occasion, Niehaus was given the option to pay an admission of guilt fine of R3,000. He has not paid the fine so the matter was thus enrolled,” said the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson, Natasha Kara, in a statement.

Niehaus has maintained his innocence saying the charges against him were trumped-up.

The matter was postponed to 22–26 November 2021 for trial.

Niehaus, the former spokesperson of the ANC’s disbanded uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans’ Association (MKMVA), is a well-known, staunch supporter of Zuma and has spoken on numerous occasions as a representative of the Free Jacob Zuma campaign.

Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail in June for being contempt of the Constitutional Court. He was recently admitted to an outside hospital for medical observation for an undisclosed illness.

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