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Security guard appears in court over Pietermaritzburg mall looting and fire

The Brookside Mall in Pietermaritzburg was one of the retail centres targeted and set ablaze by protesters in the recent spate of unrest and looting in KwaZulu-Natal. File photo.
The Brookside Mall in Pietermaritzburg was one of the retail centres targeted and set ablaze by protesters in the recent spate of unrest and looting in KwaZulu-Natal. File photo.
Image: Twitter

Security guard Ndumiseni Khetho Zuma appeared in the Pietermaritzburg magistrate's court on Monday in connection with the burning of the Brookside Mall in July.

Natasha Kara, KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said Zuma faces two charges of contravening the Riotous Assemblies Act. These include inciting public violence and inciting arson.

“The charges relate to the incidences of looting and public violence that occurred in KwaZulu-Natal in mid-July, in particular the burning of the Brookside Mall,” she said.

His first appearance was held in camera, as an identity parade had yet to be conducted. He made his second appearance on Monday and the matter was remanded to September 14 for a bail application.

Zuma was arrested by the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal on August 28, while a second alleged instigator, a 36-year-old woman who operated as “Sphithiphithi Evaluator” @AfricanSoil on Twitter, with 59,900 followers, was arrested in Gauteng on the same day.

Last month, Zuma's lawyers Phumlani Fakude and Lindokuhle Dlamini told SowetanLive's sister publication TimesLIVE they were confident their client would be released on bail.

TimesLIVE


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