Rohde sentencing delayed due to load shedding

The sentencing of Jason Rohde, convicted of murdering his wife, has been delayed due to load shedding.

The Western Cape High court was meant to hear testimony from the daughters of the property magnate and former Lew Geffen/Sothebys CEO. This will now take place at 12:30pm rather than this morning due to a planned power outage.

READ MORE: Guilty! Jason Rohde convicted of murdering his wife

The convicted murderer’s three daughters are expected to argue in mitigation of sentence for their father. Two of these daughters, Josie and Alexandra, wrote matric this year while the other, Kathryn, is at university.

Rohde has been awaiting sentencing in Pollsmoor prison after his bail was withdrawn following his judgment on November 8.

How load shedding affects the administration of justice.
That's about 90 minutes lost everyday. That's 7 1/2 hours a week. Factor in tea breaks and lunch, and you’ve basically lost an entire court day per week. https://t.co/6wkPdRv8nM

— Barry Bateman (@barrybateman) December 5, 2018

Rohde was found guilty of murdering his wife on Thursday at the Cape Town high court.

Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe read an executive summary of the 258-page judgment on the case.

READ MORE: Faeces mean murder, says state in Rohde trial

The judge was convinced by the state’s argument that Susan Rohde was murdered by her husband, and the defence was ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts to convince the court her death was, in fact, a suicide.

The former CEO had been adamant that, rather than being murdered, his wife committed suicide after finding out about an extramarital affair he had been having with his colleague Jolene Alterskye.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)

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