The Randburg Magistrate’s Court is expected to deliver judgment on Thursday in the Section 174 application brought by the eight former members of Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s VIP protection unit to have charges against them dropped.

The officers, who are all out on R10 000 bail each, face several charges including assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, reckless and negligent driving, malicious damage to property and obstruction of justice.

They were captured in a video in July 2023 brandishing rifles and allegedly assaulting trainee soldiers who were occupants of a VW Polo on the N1 highway in Johannesburg.

Occupants in the car alleged that the accused broke their car window, assaulted them and pointed them with firearms.

However, the defence argued that the video tainted the quality of evidence provided by the occupants.

The defence also insists that one of the witnesses could only identify the colour of the clothes worn by one of the accused after seeing the video.

Meanwhile, the state maintains that the accused had the intention of harming the occupants.

In a previous appearance in July, the court heard a case of alleged erratic driving by the officers: