POLOKWANE – Groenewald, a game farmer and businessman from Polokwane, and seven co-accused allegedly ran one of the country’s largest rhino poaching and trafficking syndicates and were among 10 people arrested in 2010 following a 15-month investigation. One of the accused, Paul Matomela, has since died and all charges were withdrawn against Groenewald’s wife, Sariëtte, during the trial.
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Following the ruling on Friday, applications by some of the accused to have the trial struck from the roll because of an unreasonable delay will be heard in May.
One of the accused who applied to have the case struck from the roll is Nardus Rossouw, the only one of the accused not out on bail. His bail was withdrawn due to alleged crimes he committed while out on bail and he is remanded in custody.
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Rossouw’s legal representative, Andre Steenkamp, said he will request a special inquiry into the unreasonable delay of the trial as his client, an innocent man, would be languishing in jail indefinitely while his criminal trial was pending.
Steenkamp added a pending application by some of the accused to have certain charges against them declared unconstitutional, could take years to conclude, causing his client to remain in custody for even longer. Steenkamp added this will leave Rossouw in a far worse position than sentenced prisoners.
