Hlophe concerned by four judges testifying

The Western Cape judge president John Hlophe has voiced concern over the possibility of four judges testifying in the trial of the widow of slain Judge Patrick Maqubela.

Thandi Maqubela goes on trial in the Western Cape High Court on April 11, together with co-accused Vela Mabena.

Hlophe expressed his reservations during pre-trial proceedings in the high court on Friday.

He said judges were supposed to be on the Bench, presiding in court cases, and not in the witness stand.

Quite apart from this, if the four judges were to testify in the case, he would be without them for the period that they were required to give evidence.

He urged the defence team, advocate Morne Calitz and attorney Randal Titus, to urgently try and resolve this predicament with prosecutor Bonnie Curry-Gamwo, especially if the judges' testimony concerned formal technicalities that could be resolved by means of sworn affidavits.

Calitz, for Maqubela, said the testimony of two of the judges was not of a technical nature, and they would be required to testify.

It was possible that the testimony of the other two could be dispensed with by way of affidavit, he said.

Hlophe was adamant that he did not want any of his judges testifying as witnesses.

The prosecutor said she had already consulted with one of the judges.

Whether it would be possible to dispense with their testimony depended on whether the defence team was willing to make any formal admissions.

Hlophe said a judge from the High Court in Pretoria had already been allocated to preside in the case.

He postponed the case to April 1 for final pre-trial proceedings. The trial starts on April 11.

At earlier pre-trial proceedings, the prosecutor said the alleged murder involved a forged will in which Maqubela was the beneficiary of R20 million.

The deceased was an acting judge in the Cape High Court at the time of his death, and was found dead in his luxury Bantry Bay apartment on June 5 last year.

Both Maqubela and Mabena are out on bail.