The case of the five workmen who were charged with malicious damage to City-owned property last year is likely to drag on even more.
The men were arrested for illegally affixing a heavy steel structure against the Club Terrace bridge in Constantia Kloof in October 2019.
The five men, all out on bail, took to the stand briefly in the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 6 October, but the case was postponed again because the presiding Magistrate did not want to proceed before a suitable legal representative was appointment for the accused.
The Magistrate cited that the new Legal Aid attorney, who had just taken over the case, could not continue as his contract was to expire before the end of the year. He felt that there would be further delays if another attorney was to take over again later, costing the court time and money as it could can take up to 12 weeks for him/ her to obtain transcripts of the proceedings, and work through them to prepare for the case.
The complainant, Ward 89 councillor Amelia Bester, who was expected to be cross-examined, was not impressed with the delays. She complained that the matter has now been dragging on for a year, and that they are always met with excuses every time the accused appear in court. She told the court that the delays were not in the interest of justice and appealed for a reliable legal representative to take over the accused’s case.
Surprisingly, the Public Protector suggested a shorter postponement than was expected.
In the interim, Amelia and the witnesses will have to wait until they are subpoenaed to testify in court – possibly within the next two weeks.
This is a developing story.
