Former Ukhozi FM presenter Ngizwe Mchunu’s case for allegedly inciting violence during the July 2021 unrest was again postponed by the Randburg magistrate’s court.
Mchunu arrived in court on Wednesday accompanied by his fans who were all dressed in traditional Zulu attire and chanting in support of him.
State prosecutor Yusuf Baba postponed the case to May 2 for a further hearing.
Mchunu’s lawyer Vusi Khathi said his team has a strong case because the state has led insufficient evidence to incriminate his client.
“We have applied for discharge in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act 174, which entitles us as the defense that once the state closes a case, if we feel that they have led insufficient evidence which incriminates the accused, the accused is protected by the act not to incriminate himself in order to assist the state to prove its case,” Khathi said.
“At this point, we are waiting for prosecution to respond to that. We are waiting for those responses. We have a strong case because they are relying on personal inference, because they do not have hard evidence.”
Mchunu was arrested after he was accused of being the instigator for the riots. He is also accuse for being in contravention of the Disaster Management Act.
Mchunu publicly demanded that former statesman Jacob Zuma, who had been arrested for being in contempt of court, be released.
More than 350 people were killed during the unrest that unfolded mainly in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Many other people were injured and the economy took a devastating blow after shops were burned down and looted, leaving hundreds of employees in affected shops being retrenched.
For the latest entertainment news from Sunday World, click here.
Or read the latest from Shwashwi here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here
