The Durban regional court has postponed Bonginkosi Khanyile’s trial to August 19 after learning that he has acquired the services of a new legal representative.
However, Khanyile, who is accused of delaying the trial, said he is not changing his legal team but expanding it, adding that it is well within his rights to bolster his team.
Khanyile, who was arrested last year, is out on R5 000 bail for being a part of a group of people who are suspected to have been behind the unrest that gripped parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July 2021.
The Fees Must Fall activist maintains his innocence and is adamant that the unrest was triggered by the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma.
He faces charges of inciting public violence, contravening the Disaster Management Act and the Covid-19 regulations that prohibited meetings at the time.
Meanwhile, four additional alleged instigators appeared at the same court on Monday and were released on R3 000 bail each. Khanyile and the four join 22 other suspects who were also released on bail on Friday. The group was ordered to return to court on August 26.
They have been instructed not to incite violence related to the case and to remain within KwaZulu-Natal pending their next court appearance. This despite the fact that they were arrested in different provinces.
Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Thandi Mbambo said the suspects were arrested during a joint law-enforcement operation in parts of KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, North West, Free State, Western Cape, and Northern Cape.
“Joint police teams were mobilised to execute simultaneous arrests in various areas so as to secure court attendance of persons of interest, spread out in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, North West, Free State, Western Cape, and Northern Cape,” said Mlambo.
“This multi-disciplinary team includes the Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation, serious corruption investigation, serious commercial crimes investigation, digital forensic investigation, priority crime management centre of the Hawks, crime intelligence, national intervention unit, public order policing, tactical response team, as well as local criminal record centre members.”
Mbambo confirmed that the investigation continues and that more arrests are imminent.
Also read: 2021 July unrest instigators released on R3 000 bail each
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