WATCH: Malema vows he and Ndlozi will emerge victorious in assault case

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema maintains the supposed assault for which they are facing charges in court was actually an incident of self-defence.

The duo appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

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Malema and Ndlozi are charged with assaulting police officer Lieutenant Colonel Johannes Jacobus Venter at the funeral of struggle veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela at Fourways Memorial Park in April 2018.

The incident was captured on CCTV footage.

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Malema and Ndlozi have pleaded not guilty and claimed that Venter attempted to stop them from entering the cemetery to bid farewell to Madikizela-Mandela.

In June, the pair applied for a Section 174 to have this matter discharged, but the magistrate ruled against this application.

Taking the stand in court, Ndlozi testified that he felt his rights had been fundamentally violated when he was refused entry into the Fourways Memorial Park by Venter.

“I felt fundamentally violated, denied not just my right to freedom or our freedom to movement or freedom to access Freedom Park, but also the dignity to mourn somebody we had a relationship with… somebody despite having a relationship with whom, we had been at countless moments with.

“We had been told that we may not be able to smoothly attend her funeral when Mr Venter acted in that manner and even refusing any form of engagement it was a fundamental humiliation,” Ndlozi testified.

Addressing the media outside court, Malema said he and Ndlozi will emerge victorious in the case against them.

“They couldn’t do anything. They couldn’t make us concede on any point. At many a times the prosecutor conceded that we were correct. So, as we were taking the stand, the state’s case became weaker and weaker, and we are more than confident we will emerge victorious.”

“We have very solid team, focused and we did not undermine this case because we know that when it comes to the leadership of the EFF there is nothing such as a small case or big case. Every small opportunity they get to humiliate us, they will use it with both hands,” said Malema.

The case against Malema and Ndlozi has been postponed to 29 September for final arguments and judgment to be set down.

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