July 2021 unrest: Accused says supporting Jacob Zuma not a sin
Bogadi Maphisa is accused alongside four other people of conspiracy to incite public violence.
It's alleged that they were part of a WhatsApp group that circulated inflammatory messages, which contributed to the unrest that killed more than 350 people.
The five appeared at the Roodepoort Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The July 2021 unrest was sparked by Zuma's incarceration.
Following his release from jail, Zuma founded the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.
In court on Wednesday, Maphisa showed up wearing an MK Party headwrap, a T-shirt with Zuma's face on it and a black puffer jacket with MK Party logos on the back and front.
"I do not know why I am charged for something that I did not do, I know nothing of this. Maybe my sin is that I am a fan of my president – Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma – and I will let him go at any given moment."
Maphisa is also accused number 43 in a separate July 2021 unrest case in Durban, where 64 people are charged with several counts, including terrorism acts and conspiring to kill former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
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