Two men react during their first appearance at the Cullinan Magistrate's Court for the murder of three Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church Monks. Photo: Gallo Images/ Phill Magakoe
An Egyptian monk and a priest are expected to apply for bail next week after they were charged with the 12 March murders of three coptic monks.
Monk Saeed Basonda, 37, and priest Samuel ava Markos, 47, appeared in the Cullinan Magistrate’s Court on Friday on three counts of murder and one of violating the Immigration Act.
This after the gruesome discovery of the bodies of Father Takla Elsmwaeili Ayoub Attia Mossoud Mouss, Father Marcos Shawkat Nasry Morid Wanas Mina and Father Marcos Mofed Tawfek Isaac Youstos, at the Coptic Orthodox Church premises in Cullinan, east of Pretoria, where they all resided.
The duo is also accused of using an axe to cut their victims.
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On Friday, the pair appeared in the Cullinan Magistrate’s Court where the matter was moved to 28 March for bail information, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said in a statement.
Basonda and Avamarkos stand accused of stabbing to death the trio whose lifeless bodies were found in pools of blood.
The incident horrified the world.
In a statement released by the Coptic Orthodox Church, it is said that “three monks were subjected to a criminal attack in our coptic monastery of Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Samuel the Confessor in Johannesburg, South Africa”.
The statement at the time added that relevant agencies arrived at the monastery and began their investigations of the incident.
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It further announced that the Egyptian ambassador in Johannesburg also went to the coptic monastery to follow up the situation.
Police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed the incident took place in Cullinan on 12 March.
She said all three victims were found with stab wounds while the fourth victim, who survived, alleged that he was hit by an iron rod on his hand before fleeing and hiding in one of the rooms.
No valuable items were taken and the motive of the killing was unknown at the time.
The accused face schedule six offense.
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