Alleged July riots instigator Ngizwe Mchunu briefly appeared in court on Wednesday.
- Former Ukhozi FM presenter Ngizwe Mchunu says he’s innocent and ready to testify.
- Mchunu addressed the media after his case was postponed on Wednesday, saying he was arrested for defending Jacob Zuma.
- He promised to tell the truth when he took the stand.
Alleged July 2021 unrest instigator and a former Ukhozi FM radio personality, Ngizwe Mchunu, says he is innocent.
Mchunu appeared briefly in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on charges related to the public violence that led to the destruction of properties during the unrest, as well as contravening the Covid-19 regulations.
Mchunu had been ready to testify, his lawyer Vusi Khathi said, but he had not yet been provided with transcripts of proceedings, which prosecutor Yusuf Baba promised to provide.
Magistrate RG Sadiki said it was fair to give both parties a chance to present the matter in a way that suited them.
“The matter will be postponed to allow the parties to get transcripts and particulars before we can proceed. The matter is rolled over for trial,” Sadiki said.
Addressing the media outside the court, Mchunu said: “I was ready to take the stand. However, there were technical delays that needed to be attended to. They know that I speak deep Zulu, and the State wanted to find an interpreter who speaks pure Zulu. There is no case here. There is nothing at all.”
Mchunu added that he was arrested for complaining about the detention of former president Jacob Zuma.
“I was arrested for complaining about the arrest of an old man. He didn’t deserve to be sentenced to jail. He was sentenced without trial. Political gurus of this country rule this country in the form of dictatorship using laws unfair to all citizens,” said Mchunu.
Mchunu claimed he was defending the country so citizens could enjoy the benefits of living in harmony.
He added:
I will take the stand and tell the truth as it is. I will be speaking the truth in isiZulu. The truth will be revealed. We were all crying for the unlawful arrest of Jacob Zuma. I was never involved in any looting.
“I am [an] ordinary citizen who [is] oppressed. I don’t intimidate anyone. I don’t have a business. I don’t occupy any political position. I am the noble leader of the society. I am innocent. They can try many times. I will emerge innocent.”
READ | ‘I am innocent’: Alleged July unrest instigator Ngizwe Mchunu pleads not guilty
Mchunu added that courts are used to destroy EFF leader Julius Malema.
“Courts are the only systems used to manipulate the rule of law. For three years, I have been attending this so-called stupid case. I am heading to Phoenix to pray peacefully for those killed [during the 2021 July unrest].
“There will be a remembrance of the Phoenix massacre so we can live [as a] human race without racial tensions between Africans and Indians,” said Mchunu.
He is expected to testify on Thursday.