THE 30 ANC supporters arrested on Saturday at the residence of President Jacob Zuma’s homestead near Nkandla appeared in the Nkandla Magistrate’s Court.
The 19 females and 11 men (aged between 17 and 54 years of age), who face charges of public violence, were granted bail of R500 each.
The case has been remanded to Tuesday, 18 February at Nkandla Magistrate’s Court.
The suspects are accused of public violence when a group of ANC supporters threw stones and water bottles at Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) leader, Julius Malema arrived to hand over a house to an elderly women and her family living next to President Zuma’s homestead.
A police vehicle was also damaged in the confrontation.
The police fired rubber bullets and teargas to disperse the crowd.
Meanwhile, the recipient of the house, Sthandiwe Hlongwane says that she will not be moving into the house built by the EFF.
She is frightened that she and her family will be attacked by the ANC supporters if she occupies the house.
13 JANUARY 2013
Nkandla ‘no go’ for Malema
THIRTY people were arrested and rubber bullets were fired as tensions ran high outside President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla residence on Saturday when a few hundred ANC supporters started throwing stones and bottles at Julius Malema, Commander-in-Chief of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
Police responded with rubber bullets and used a water canon and tear gas against the ANC members.
SAPS spokesman Col Thulani Zwane also confirmed the arrest of 30 ANC supporters who will appear in the Nkandla Magistrate’s Court today (Monday) on charges of public violence.
The EFF were handing over a house they had built, next to Zuma’s homestead, to a woman and her grandchildren.
Police officers were deployed at the entrance to the woman’s house, which is about 300m from the perimeter fence of Zuma’s homestead.
A roadblock was also set up about a 1km from the house and all vehicles were searched.
About 70 police cars, riot vehicles, including Nyalas, and a police tow truck lined the road as a the SAPS kept an eye on proceedings from a helicopter.
The ANC supporters gathered near Zuma’s home and were then escorted by the police as they marched passed the house.
The police had kept the two groups apart as the ANC supporters waited on a nearby hill.
The ANC members prevented EFF leader Julius Malema’s car from driving to the house and he was forced to alight and walk to the house.
ANC supporters then began throwing bottles of water and stones and police intervened using truncheons, a water canon and tear gas.
Rubber bullets were also fired and the mob scattered.
The EFF dispelled the rumour that Malema would inspect Zuma’s homestead in a statement by ‘central command team’ member Sipho Mbatha said who said Malema was not going to visit the ‘palace’ and they ‘did not want things to get too excited’.
about the road to mpembeni outside esikhaleni tha got lot of potholes