The trial of the two Vosloorus men accused of being behind the killers-for-hire murder of retired SAPS officer in Birchleigh, Kempton Park, in January 2018 is due to reopen at the Palm Ridge High Court on July 27.
Speaking to Kathorus MAIL, the hopeful family of retired SAPS Crime Intelligence Head, Major-General Thekiso Mogoerane, expressed relief that the trial against the six suspected of involved in the murder of their beloved eldest brother will finally be taken to its eventual conclusion.
The case was last heard at the Gauteng High Court in April 2019 and at the end of the hearing a new date was set for February 17. But on the date of the trial, court proceedings could not resume since not all the accused nor some of their legal representatives were present in court.
It was established that not all the people involved in the matter had been adequately informed about the new court venue.
It was also established that some of the accused and their legal representatives were already waiting at the Gauteng High Court for the case to resume.
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State Prosecutor, Carla Brits, later admitted there had been a communication glitch between the office and the legal defence teams representing the six accused.
But after a few hours of legal court wrangling between Judge Justice Maselela, Brits, and members of the defence legal representatives an agreement was reached that the case should be postponed to the following day, Tuesday, February, 18 at the same Palm Ridge High Court.
As a result of the trial date mix-up, one of the accused failed to appear alongside the rest of the suspects in court when the case was opened in court on February 17.
Maselela then summoned Brits and the rest of the defence lawyers to his chambers for a briefing to which they seem to all agreed that the trial could not resume without one of the accused being in court.
The judge argued that it would be against the law and a violation of justice and the rights of the accused if the trial was allowed to continue in his absence.
Maselela also queried the option of a further postponement of the trial and called for the State to take into consideration the impact of the legal costs incurred by the accused a well as the emotional effects of the case on the bereaved family members of the deceased.
Both parties want to find closure in the matter so they can continue with their lives,” said the judge when he granted the trial to be postponed to the following day.
Brits, together with defence lawyers, agreed to have the trial be resume on February 18th at the same court.
However, when the trial resumed it was found crucial evidence had not been submitted to the State Prosecutor’s office prior to the opening of the case.
At this point, Brits once again requested the trial date to be set for April 3.
But in March President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of emergency and several days later, the entire country went under a total lockdown as the result of the Covid-19 virus outbreak.
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We have been waiting since then for the court to issue a new trial date for the trial to resume,” said a spokesperson for the Mogoerane family.
The accused in the murder trial are;? Morris Musa Magasela (45)? Mzoshinga Zondo (48)? Thulane Nxumalo (33)? Michael Sanele Mphuthi (36)? NtombizodwaDlamini (70), Cordelia Mogoerane(60).
A 46-year-old Vosloorus woman, Bongiwe Lukhele, who was alleged to have been the girlfriend of one of the accused in the case, was shot and killed under unexplained circumstances during a mysterious drive-by shooting not far from her home in Vosloorus in April 2019.
The charge against the wife of the former police head together with five of her co-accused is expected to reveal how his murder was mooted, planned, and finally executed inside the family home by his wife and the five co-accused.
According to testimony previously placed in the court, the investigator believes the motive for the murder was money – specifically after a large partial payment of a pension pay-out was deposited into the deceased?s account just prior to his death.
All the accused have denied the allegations made against them by the State while the bereaved Mogoerane family anxiously awaits the full details about the murder, they are adamant that only a court of law will finally reveal how their beloved elder brother met his untimely tragic end.
