WATCH LIVE | Julius Malema and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi back in court

EFF leader Julius Malema and MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi are back at the Randburg magistrate’s court on Tuesday morning.

They are facing charges of assaulting police officer Col Johannes Venter.

They are accused of assaulting the officer in 2018 at the funeral of struggle stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in Fourways, Johannesburg.

Malema and Ndlozi have pleaded not guilty and claimed the charge was part of a political agenda.

AfriForum had pushed for their prosecution.

The trial resumed on Tuesday with the state calling Deon Klingbiel, former operational manager at the Fourways Memorial Cemetery, where Madikizela-Mandela was buried.

Klingbiel told the court that there were two CCTV cameras placed at the entrance of the cemetery which were installed in 2016. He said there had been problems with the cameras earlier in 2018.

“It was before the funeral that the cameras were not working. The cameras were in working order during the funeral.”

He told the court that he did not witness the alleged assault but was told about it by a police officer.

“He approached me and wanted to find out if it was possible that the incident had been recorded. I told him it was possible since the incident happened at the entrance [of the cemetery].”

He downloaded the footage on a flash disc, handed it over to the police and made copies for himself.

“Because it was sensitive information, I personally removed it [from a hard drive] so no-one else could download it,” said Klingbiel.

The trial continues.

TimesLIVE