In the assault case involving Deputy President Paul Mashatile's VIP protection officers, a State witness denied claims his car was speeding or that he could see the blue light convoy approaching.

New developments emerged on Tuesday in the case at the Randburg Magistrates' Court involving eight officers from Deputy President Paul Mashatile's VIP protection unit. The officers are accused of assaulting people who were travelling on the N1 highway in Johannesburg in July 2023.

Defence lawyer Mswazi Makhubele presented images purportedly from the day of the incident. While some of the still images were clear, others were distorted and appeared to have been extracted from surveillance cameras.

The images showed three BMWs and a blue Polo Vivo, which Makhubele said was the convoy and a State witness's car, respectively.

The witness, one of the men allegedly assaulted by the officers, told the court that he never saw the flashing blue lights from Mashatile's convoy nor heard any sirens before his car was forced off the road in what he thought was a hijacking attempt.

The court has ordered that the witness may not be named in the media.

The witness could not confirm that it was his vehicle in the images as the registration was not visible.

Using the photos as evidence, Makhubele suggested the convoy's lights were clearly...