EFF MP Floyd Shivambu Appears in Court Over Assault Case: 'Give Him Just 20 Years'
- The EFF's Floyd Shivambu appeared in court for his assault trial in Cape Town after allegedly striking a photographer in 2018
- The complainant took to the stand to detail the incident, citing Shivambu became hostile after a picture of him was taken
- Shivambu recently drew flack on social media for allegedly "body-shaming" Thulas Nxesi, the Minister of Employment and Labour
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CAPE TOWN - Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Member of Parliament (MP) Floyd Shivambu appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court for the first day of his assault trial on Wednesday.
Shivambu allegedly assaulted Netwerk24 photographer Adrian de Kock over his refusal to delete pictures of the politician taken near the parliamentary precinct in March 2018.
Source: Getty Images
News24 reported Shivambu pleaded not guilty to the offence, while another person said to have also pounced on de Kock was not charged. Following the incident, the complainant opened a case against Shivambu at the Cape Town Central Police Station.
De Kock, in his testimony, said he formed part of a group covering the Democratic Alliance (DA)'s disciplinary proceedings against then-Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, who was facing misconduct charges in Parliament.
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Insisted pictures be deleted
The court heard that de Kock approached the EFF politician for comment on de Lille's matter. It was at that time that he took several photographs of Shivambu. However, instead of welcoming the journalist's advances, Shivambu insisted the photographs be deleted.
Briefly News understands de Kock stood firm against the request ordering him to delete the photos, adding that they were the property of Media24. A second man appeared and attempted to break a cellphone mounted on the camera, de Kock testified.
Shivambu, who recently drew flack for "body-shaming" the Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi, according to TimesLIVE, then allegedly clutched the camera to attempt to delete the images himself before a scuffle followed.
"I noticed Shivambu grabbing my neck on the right-hand side. It happened so fast ... I felt like I was getting a neck injury [due to the forceful, rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck]. It felt like I was being throttled," said de Kock.
Locals berate Shivambu's actions
South Africans took to social media to react to the testimony that emerged from the first day of the trial. There was heightened criticism directed at Shivambu and the EFF for harbouring a violent propensity.
@Mudanalwo Mudanalwo wrote:
"Give him just 20 years when he come back he will be straight, he will be respectful."
@Bheki Sibeko said:
"And when he is found guilty they will say the judge is captured and insult him/her."
@Richard Allan Warwick added:
"Nothing will happen to him, it will be deemed acceptable because he is an MP but had it been the other way around it would have been classified as a racist incident."
R3.4m Capitec theft suspect appears in court
Elsewhere, Briefly News recently reported that a third person was arrested by the Hawks for allegedly having a hand in defrauding Absa of R103 million amid his appearance in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday.
According to News24, the 29-year-old man was in court to face similar charges after allegedly stealing R3.4 million from Capitec Bank. It's thought he was also in cahoots with Xolela Masebani, reportedly a relative of his, to steal the large sum of money from Absa, where the former worked as a specialist engineer.
"Gershom Matomane allegedly received R74 million of the money stolen by Masebani, who made transfers to six accounts, including one belonging to a company linked to Matomane," said Gauteng Hawks spokesperson Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu.
Source: Briefly News
