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Lawyer Laurence Hodes, who represents Julius Malema and Ndlozi Mbuyiseni in their assault trial, came to light Wednesday afternoon.
He began his cross-examination of the Presidential Protection Services’ Lt. Col. Johannes Venter, who the couple is accused of mistreating at the funeral of fighter Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in 2018, with questions about what happened after the alleged assault.
READ ALSO: ‘At no time’ did the police officer provoke Malema or Ndlozi in the assault case, the court hears
Earlier in the day, Venter testified that he had been entrusted with access control that day and that he had refused Malema’s vehicle entry to Fourways Memorial Park, where Madikizela-Mandela was being buried, in line with an instruction not to allow her to no one but the family or the president to drive their vehicles without permission.
However, video footage reproduced in court showed that after the ensuing fight, the vehicle was finally allowed through.
Hodes asked Venter if he had ever apologized to Malema.
He replied that “it was not necessary”.
“I did my homework as expected,” he said, before Hodes interrupted him.
“No, you didn’t. If his duty was to prevent them from entering, he should have prevented it. If your duty was to let them in because they were accredited, then you should have apologized for forbidding them to enter, ”he replied.
“This must be the most ineffective Presidential Protective Service I’ve ever heard of, just kidding.”
Hodes also disputed a statement Venter had made, in which he said he sustained minor injuries to his back, despite the fact that there is no medical report to back up his claim.
He had also said: “Emotionally, I was very shocked and embarrassed by what happened since it was in front of the public, the members of the Saps and the military.”
“You weren’t surprised in that video. You were smiling, you were confident, you were anything but surprised, ”Hodes told Venter.
Venter’s response was that this was how he reacted to the shock.
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