State witness in EFF leader Julius Malema and party MP Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi’s assault case has told the Randburg Magistrate’s Court that he kept a copy of the CCTV footage of the incident for himself.
Deon Klingbiel was the manager of the Fourways Memorial Cemetery in 2018 during the funeral of struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
Malema and Ndlozi are accused of assaulting Colonel Johannes Venter after he tried to deny them access to the cemetery, saying they were not accredited to enter.
Malema and Ndlozi allegedly pushed Colonel Venter.
The pair pleaded not guilty to the charge, and have not taken the stand to give their version of events.
Malema and Ndlozi’s legal representative, Advocate Laurence Hodes questioned Klingbiel through an interpreter on why he did not mention in all his three statements to the police, that he made a copy for himself.
“So, you decide you are going to leave that fact out of your statement. But you have the secret little copy at home that you didn’t want to share with anybody else.”
Malema and Ndlozi in court on assault charges:
Drama
Last year, the court proceedings were marred by a lot of drama, including the banning of the media from streaming the event live after a cellphone of one of the camera operators rung during court proceedings.
State witness, Colonel Venter, took to the stand and detailed how he was assaulted by Ndlozi and Malema at Madikizela-Mandela’s funeral.
However, Malema and Ndlozi’s defence team told the court that Venter’s evidence was contradictory.
The CCTV footage of the incident showing the alleged assault of Venter by Malema and Ndlozi was played at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.
Employed at the Presidential Protection Unit, Venter told the court that both Ndlozi and Malema pushed him as he tried to explain that they couldn’t enter the cemetery using a vehicle, but only by foot.
VIDEO: Court appearance in October:
‘Unstoppable revolution’
Addressing his supporters outside court in the previous court appearance, Malema said, “We must never be threatened by racists who are trying everything in their power to undermine the unstoppable revolution. We want to thank you for coming out in your numbers.”
Supporters outside court at the previous appearance:
– Additional reporting by Abongile Dumako.