The case against two police officers, WO Jannie Odendaal and Const Abel Twala was withdrawn in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.
Odendaal and Twala were accused of intimidation, assault and aiming a firearm by the driver of the ANC heavyweight, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, after they pulled over her vehicle on the M1 North in Johannesburg in December 2010; the driver was apparently driving recklessly at a speed of 150 km/h.
The fact that the state prosecutors did not want to be involved in the case, created the impression that the case was politically driven. The senior prosecutor took the decision to withdraw the case.
Nantes Kelder, head of AfriForum’s investigation unit, said that justice prevailed and that the finding once again confirms that political interference should not be tolerated in judicial cases.
Last year the same case was withdrawn in the same court, but the police officers were later charged again.
Odendaal and Twala’s internal hearing is still underway, but Kelder believes the fact that the case was withdrawn a second time could influence the internal investigation.
