Julius Malema is seen at the Pretoria High Court during the case against the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in its matter against the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef), 6 August 2019, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and party spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi are set to return at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday 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 in June.
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 appear in court, both Malema and Ndlozi denied assaulting the officer.
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“I’ve never done that. If I laid a hand on him, I would have panel-beaten 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.
Lobby group AfriForum had welcomed the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prosecute Malema and Ndlozi and said it would continue to put pressure on the state to follow through with it, or would indeed prosecute the matter privately.
Malema had accused AfriForum applying apartheid tactics against him and Ndlozi for pushing to get the matter to court.
“We are happy to be dragged to court by the Boers. That’s what makes us happy because it means there is something right we are doing.
“They are not after [President Cyril] Ramaphosa, [UDM leader] Bantu Holomisa and [Cope leader Mosiuoa] ‘Terror’ Lekota. They are after the EFF, which means that the EFF is up to something. They are after the EFF.
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“We don’t feel bad. Their only regret is that we didn’t take decisive action at the time. We should have decisively dealt with the man. We are dealing with useless things.
“I mean, if you are stopped from burying your mother, how will you react? A white man comes and says to you, you can’t bury your mother at Winnie Mandela’s funeral.
“It can’t happen. The NPA just decided to go the way they went, because they are succumbing to the Boers’ agenda, which is driven by AfriForum,” he said.
Additional reporting from News24 Wire
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