One of the alleged instigators of the July 2021 civil unrest will have to wait until next month to know his fate in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court in KwaZulu-Natal.
Mdumiseni Zuma pleaded not guilty to charges of incitement to commit public violence and incitement to commit arson.
The charges are in relation to the burning of the Brookside Mall in Pietermaritzburg.
The unrest involved large scale looting and violence in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng.
Magistrate Morne Canon told the court that he was not yet ready to deliver judgement.
Last month, state prosecutor Yuri Gangai led evidence by introducing a video, recorded by Zuma inside the mall on the eve of the attack, calling on people to destroy the mall.
Zuma was a security guard at the mall at the time.
Just hours after Zuma’s video was circulated, the Brookside Shopping Mall went up in flames on July 12th, 2021.
The mall was amongst the first major casualties, following rampant looting and it was subsequently burnt to the ground.
The matter has been adjourned to September 8th.
State wants maximum sentence for alleged July unrest instigator:
