Charges against Mcebo Dlamini politically motivated - Mpofu
Johannesburg - Charges against Fees Must Fall leader Mcebo Dlamini are politically motivated, the High Court sitting in Palm Ridge heard on Tuesday.
His lawyer, Dali Mpofu, said evidence of this was a meeting between President Jacob Zuma, Justice Minister Michael Masutha and NPA head Shaun Abrahams at the ANC headquarters in October, days before Dlamini was arrested.
"This meeting constitutes the best evidence of the feared political interference."
Dlamini is appealing the decision by the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on October 19 to deny him bail. He faces charges of malicious damages to property, theft, assault, and public violence during student protests at Wits University.
It was not just a wild statement Dlamini had made in his affidavit, Mpofu said.
It was difficult to imagine Zuma, Masutha and Abrahams having a legitimate and lawful meeting to discuss students’ protests without the ministers of finance and education, and the police commissioner being present.
The only reasonable conclusion that could be drawn was that the politicians were seeking to unduly interfere in the student protests.
He said, if the charges against Dlamini were politically motivated, it would be reminiscent of the apartheid era.
Mpofu argued that the video footage that prosecutor Steven Rubin had referred to in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, during Dlamini's first bail hearing, was fictitious. Rubin said police had footage of Dlamini throwing a brick at the police.
He, however, only supplied the courts with two still photographs that apparently showed Dlamini with his back to the camera.
"Why does the State claim that the person in this photo is the applicant, because it’s a photo of the rear of this person?" Mpofu asked.
He said he knew for a fact that the State did not have any video footage of Dlamini throwing a brick at police.
Update:
Release Mcebo Dlamini on a warning - lawyer
Johannesburg – Fees Must Fall leader Mcebo Dlamini should be released on a warning, the High Court sitting in Palm Ridge heard on Tuesday.
Appealing against the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court's decision to deny him bail on October 19, his lawyer Dali Mpofu said the charges against him were politically motivated.
There was a link between a meeting attended by NPA head Shaun Abrahams, Justice Minister Michael Masutha and President Jacob Zuma, and Dlamini's arrest a few days later, on October 16, he told Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng.
"These are very legitimate fears of political motivation, which leaves us with no doubt this trial is doomed to fail," he said.
Dlamini was not in court.
Mpofu asked the court to release Dlamini on a warning. He said Dlamini's initial plea for bail to be set at R1 500 could be reversed to a warning.
"He should be compensated for injustice done. We humbly pray this court expresses its disapproval of political motivation and set aside bail," he said.
Mokgoatlheng said he would hand down judgment on Wednesday and give his reasons on Friday.
"If you are a gambling man, you will know how I will rule," Mokgoatlheng said.
Dlamini is facing charges of malicious damage to property, theft, assault, public violence and contravening a court order.
His trial is expected to start on November 15.
