A case against Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s former protectors has been postponed to 6 May 2024 by the Randburg Magistrates Court.
The state requested that the matter be postponed to next year for trial.
The eight officers attached to the SAPS VIP Unit made a brief court appearance on Thursday morning on charges of pointing a firearm, assault and damage to property after they were seen in a video assaulting civilians on the side of the N1 highway in Johannesburg in July.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it is convinced that it has a strong case against the accused.
“We are confident that we have a strong case.
We are ready to proceed to the next stage of the case, which is the trial process hence we requested a postponement,” said NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwana, who was speaking to the media outside court.
Mjonondwana is adamant that the case will not be affected by the officers who are now back at work.
“We can confirm that the investigations are concluded hence we are ready to disclose the contents of the dockets to the defense team.
We don’t believe that it could be a problem to our case before court,” explained Mjonondwana.
Phineas Boshielo, Joseph Mofokeng, Churchill Mkhize, Shadrack Kojoana, Johannes Mampuru, Aggrie Rambau, Harmans Ramokhonami and Moses Tshidada resumed their duties after a 60-day suspension instituted by the South African Police Services following incident.
All the suspects are out on bail of R10 000 which they were granted in August.