The EFF leader and the party’s PM Mbuyiseni Ndlozi were in court on Thursday for day two of their assault trial.
EFF leader Julius Malema (in red tie) at the Randburg Magistrates court on 28 October 2020 where he and EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi are on trial for allegedly assaulting a police officer in 2018. Picture: Xanderleigh Dookey/EWN.
RANDBURG – Lawyers for Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Julius Malema on Thursday used video footage of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s funeral to prove that the EFF leader’s car had accreditation allowing him into Fourways Memorial Park Cemetery.
Malema and EFF Member of Parliament (PM) Mbuyiseni Ndlozi were in court for day two of their assault trial.
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They are accused of pushing Colonel Johannes Venter after he denied them entrance into the cemetery, saying that they were not part of the official convoy and did not have accreditation.
But Malema’s lawyer Advocate Laurence Hodes played video evidence where he pointed to the vehicle’s windscreen, saying the accreditation was on the dashboard.
The pair pleaded not guilty to the charge but have not taken the stand to give their version of events.
Hodes told the court that Venter did not bother to look for the permit on Malema’s car before he stopped them at the cemetery.
Hodes spent the day cross-examining the colonel. He questioned how Venter could not see the paper.
“Your worship I see that there is a white paper there by the window. It can be a permit and it can not be a permit,” Venter said.
Hodes said in response: “You didn’t bother to look. Let’s be honest for once, you didn’t bother to look.”
Venter stuck to his story, saying that he saw no accreditation on the vehicle.
#Malemaincourt Ndlozi and #Malema making their way back into the dock after the short adjournment. A short scuffle broke out after the pair accused the man from Afriforum of blocking their way. #EFF pic.twitter.com/NyfCCz6UbK
EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) October 29, 2020
Meanwhile, during the recess, there was an altercation between Malema and a lawyer who was sitting at the entrance to the dock.
“What are you doing in this court? What is your interest here in this court? You’re disturbing witnesses [and] you’re blocking the entrance of the court!” Malema said.
WATCH: Malema, Ndlozi assault trial proceedings
