A fifth person has been added to the case of four individuals arrested in connection with the 2021 July unrest .
The accused appeared briefly in the Roodepoort Magistrates Court west of Johannesburg, where the case was postponed to the end of this month. The accused faces charges of conspiracy to commit public violence and two counts of incitement to commit public violence. They are out on R1 500 bail each.
The five accused are alleged to have posted inciting messages on a WhatsApp chat group named ZUMA REAL ACTIVIST 100, which could have contributed to the 2021 mass violence and looting in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in the wake of the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma.
Among the accused is MK Party member, Bohadi Maphisa who faces similar charges in KwaZulu-Natal. Dressed in her full party regalia, Maphisa has maintained her innocence.
I know that I do not have a case, I know that I am not guilty of anything. So, they can go as far as they want to go. My conscience is clear, I did not incite anybody to go and do anything, says Maphisa.