The pre-trial conference against those accused of being instigators of the July unrest that wreaked havoc in KwaZulu-Natal and other parts of the country was yet to get under way. The accused now 64 following the death of one appeared in the Durban High Court on Wednesday. Picture: Shelley Kjonstad/ Independent Newspapers
Durban — The Durban High Court on Wednesday set a deadline for the defence of each of the 64 alleged July unrest instigator accused to send their draft of formal admissions and filled-in pre-trial forms to the prosecution to speed up the process leading to the eventual trial.
The accused are charged in connection with the unrest and public violence that flared in July 2021.
They face charges of conspiracy to commit public violence, incitement to commit public violence, terrorism, sedition, and conspiracy to commit murder, among others.
There had been previously been 65 accused, however, one of them, Ntombizonke Zanele Msalela, died earlier this year.
After being addressed by senior State prosecutor Mahen Naidu on the State’s concerns over the delay of the pre-trial starting, Judge Jacqueline Henriques set the ball in motion.
She set a deadline for the defence of those accused who had not consulted with their clients in preparation for the pre-trial conference, ahead of the matter sitting again in court in July.
Some accused are represented by private counsel, others have been granted Legal Aid. Some only applied for this service on Wednesday after their private attorneys withdrew.
Some have been denied Legal Aid and are in the process of appealing against this rejection through a process where they have to motivate reasons why they require the free legal representation.
Five accused were not in court and some provided doctor’s notes. One of the five is Mabongi Thabethe, who had previously informed the court that she would not be present as she was due to give birth around this time.
Judge Henriques gave a stern warning to the accused and legal representatives concerning medical certificates should they not be in court.
This is after an accused, Ayanda Magudulela, who had not been in court previously submitted a medical certificate with no specification of her ailment.
“Medical certificates need to indicate what ailment you suffered from and should not just say you had a medical condition and were unfit to attend court, I will not accept this,” said Judge Henriques.
The matter was adjourned to July to iron out issues around legal representation for some of the accused and for the pre-trial process to get under way.
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