Winnie spat: Lay out the evidence - DA

2011-09-28 16:14

Johannesburg - If there is enough evidence to charge two policemen for pulling over Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, there should be enough evidence for counter-charges, the DA said on Wednesday.

"The police officers were not aware the car carried Madikizela-Mandela when they pulled it over," the party's Gauteng spokesperson for safety and security Kate Lorimer said.

"Why would the car have been pulled over if it had not been doing something irregular?"

Warrant Officer Jannie Odendaal and Constable Abel Twala stopped Madikizela-Mandela's car in December last year because it was reportedly being driven recklessly at 150km/h.

Argument

An argument between the officers and the occupants of the ANC MP's car followed. Her bodyguards brought charges of intimidation and pointing of a firearm against the policemen.

On Tuesday, charges against the bodyguards and Madikizela-Mandela were dropped, but the policemen, who were on suspension, would be criminally charged.

Prosecutor Kholeka Gcaleka of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Monday that the department of public prosecutions had "enough proof" to prosecute.

Lorimer challenged the NPA to lay out all the evidence for public scrutiny if this was the case.

"If we are truly to believe there is no fault... we must see all the evidence available from both sides. Once again, it looks like a case of special treatment for members of the ANC elite."

- SAPA