Final remand date is given in serial murder case
The case that has shocked Mpumalanga and South Africa against a serial murder accused, Julius Mndawe, has been postponed again.
Mndawe briefly appeared in the KaBokweni Magistrate’s Court on Friday October 23.
The state asked for a further postponement due to outstanding DNA results regarding two of the five victims allegedly killed and buried by Mndawe at his home in Numbi.
The accused’s legal representative was not satisfied with the matter being postponed again without a Regional Court date being given.
READ: Two Numbi murder victims to be finally buried this weekend
He argued that Mndawe had not been granted bail since his arrest in July last year and had been in custody for a long time.
“The matter has been on the court roll since July 2019 and Mndawe had been in custody since then. I want to put it on record that as much as we understand the complex nature of the case, the accused is innocent until proven guilty. The investigations are long overdue and it is not fair for the accused to be awaiting trial in custody for such a long time,” he said.
The state prosecutor argued that this was a unique case, hence the forensic and DNA investigations took such a long time. The prosecutor said the state will request the forensic office to speed up the processes needed to be followed.
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Magistrate Musa Mabunda said he was giving a final remand for the matter.
“The accused is facing five counts of murder which could possibly increase to a number unknown by the court. It will grant a final remand for the forensic results to be brought in court,” he said.
The matter was postponed to December 11 in the Masoyi Periodic Court.
