Woman who pointed gun at EFF members during Clicks protests ‘off the hook’

Dianne Attwell, 52, the woman who was charged for pointing a firearm at EFF members inside a mall in September, is a free woman.

Her lawyer Alwyn Griebenow confirmed this to News24 on Friday, when she was due to appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court.

The case had been postponed from her first appearance in September for further investigation.

Griebenow said after the first appearance, he filed representations with the offices of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) which were successful.

He said on Wednesday his office received a notice from the DPP informing him that they would not continue with any further criminal prosecution against Attwell.

“A nolle prosequi certificate was issued. Today in court the charges against Dianne Attwell were withdrawn and the court was informed that it was indeed a decision of the director of public prosecutions that there is no criminal offence committed by Dianne Attwell in light of the video footage,” said Griebenow.

The lawyer said the decision of the DPP was based on the footage of the incident, statements in the police docket, as well as representations made by his office on the matter.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani said she would respond once she gathered facts about Griebenow’s claims.

Attwell found herself in hot water after she was involved in a scuffle with members of the EFF during a protest outside Clicks in Walmer Shopping Mall.

She was captured on video footage pulling a gun and pointing it at EFF members during a screaming match at the foyer of the mall.

Also read: WATCH: ‘Granny’ pulls pistol on EFF supporters, gets arrested

Scuffle

In a statement, mall manager Leonie Scheepers said the scuffle broke out after Attwell allegedly started filming a gathering of the red berets outside a Clicks store.

She said she was warned by mall security to stop filming the protesters who were demonstrating over an offensive Clicks hair product advert.

Attwell’s 7.65 pistol was confiscated by police at the time.

A video of the incident went viral in September showing Atwell being escorted by four mall security guards away from a group of about four yelling EFF members.

The EFF members were seen in the footage stalking and taunting Attwell shouting “you f——’ b—- go back to Europe.”

Attwell suddenly stopped and pulled out a gun from inside her jacket and pointed at the EFF members.

They replied, “shoot shoot”.

EFF Eastern Cape provincial chairperson Yazini Tetyana is on record saying the party “enjoys irritating white people”.

He said the clash was a demonstration that white people were irritated by the EFF and that the party liked that.

He was not reachable for comment on Friday.

The protests came after Clicks published a TRESemme hair product describing two pictures of black hair as “dry” and “damaged” and “frizzy” and dull” while white hair was described as “fine” and “flat” and “normal”.

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