Following several postponements, the State seems to be ready to proceed with the trial of terror accused twin brothers, Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee Tony Thulsie.
On 11 July, the duo appeared briefly before Magistrate Pieter du Plessis in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court. State prosecutor, Chris MacAdam told the court that the only outstanding matter in the case was the issue of the centralisation of the 12th charge of fraud which was allegedly committed outside the jurisdiction of Gauteng.
The State alleges that the brothers unlawfully and with intent to defraud used fake Lesotho passports in the magisterial district of Ficksburg in the Free State.
MacAdam highlighted that they were waiting for the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) to centralise the matter, adding that the defence had not indicated their attitude towards the centralisation issue. The prosecutor maintained that it would be in the interest of justice for all charges to be centralised and be heard in Gauteng, as the attorneys and family members of the accused are situated here.
With the agreement of the State and defence, Du Plessis postponed the matter to 27 July to hear whether the matter is centralised and what dates the High Court will be available for the pre-trial and consolidation of the trial or not.
Case against terror accused twins postponed again
MacAdam also told the court that the State had received a notice from the defence, expressing dissatisfaction with delays around the whole case. MacAdam said the defence accused the State of unreasonable delays, saying the accused were not afforded a speedy trial, as is their right. MacAdam, however, told the court that this as not the case, as the Constitution said a trial must be without reasonable delay. He maintained that the delays were reasonable.
The twin brothers have been in custody for over a year now. They were arrested on 9 July last year on terror-related charges.
According to the provisional indictment document that the State produced in court earlier this year, the twins were allegedly plotting terrorist attacks against a United States Mission in Johannesburg, as well as Jewish cultural sites.
The provisional indictment revealed that the pair was going to execute acts of terrorism by using firearms, explosives and possibly poison.
According to the document, the purpose of the planned terrorist attacks was to intimidate the governments of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, the Russian Federation and the South African Government, as well as the Jewish, Shia Muslim and other foreign communities in South Africa.
The indictment stated that the attacks were also planned to cause terror, fear or panic in the civilian population of South Africa and, in particular, the sections of the civilian population targeted.
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