Cape Town — The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) secretary-general, Marshal Dlamini, has been handed an 18-month prison sentence, which was suspended for five years.
Dlamini appeared at the Cape Town Regional Court on Friday, where his sentence was handed down. He received a R6 000 fine, or three months in prison for malicious damage to property, The Citizen reported.
Dlamini was found guilty of assault to cause grievous bodily harm, and malicious damage to property in April this year, after he assaulted policeman Johan Carstens during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in February 2019.
“I am prepared to accept that, indeed, a lesson had been learned,” said Magistrate Nasha Banwari in pre-sentencing remarks about why she had not chosen a custodial sentence, News24 reported.
In response to the sentencing, the EFF said on X that removing Dlamini from a leadership role would serve no constructive purpose.
“It is our firm view that there was a predetermined agenda to prevent the EFF leadership from executing its legislative responsibilities at the SONA that day, and that prevention was physical,” the party said.
The EFF said it would appeal the judgement handed down to Dlamini and that he would continue to exercise his role as an MP.
The EFF’s Statement on the Sentence Imposed by the Cape Town Magistrates Court Against Secretary General Marshall Dlamini
-The rationale used by the court in its sentencing reaffirms our view that the case in its entirety was vindictive and is part of a broader attempt to… pic.twitter.com/GEd3GagY68
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) June 28, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
