WATCH | Court orders Matlala trial to go on despite fight about postponement

The high court in Johannesburg has ruled that the trial of alleged murder kingpin Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala and his five co-accused will proceed with a three-week break in August after finding that no party would be prejudiced by the postponement.

Judge Cassim Moosa ruled that the trial will take place from July 20 to August 7, pause between August 11 and August 28, and resume from August 31 until September 18.

Matlala, his wife Tsakane, Musa Kekana, Nthabiseng Nzama and Tiego Mabusela face 25 charges, including the attempted murders of actor Tebogo Thobejane and minibus taxi businessperson Joe Sibayoni, who briefly attended proceedings on Monday.

Before the trial could start, Kekana’s lawyer, Riaan Gessing, told the court he was already committed to another criminal trial in the high court in Benoni during the period set down for the trial.

Proceedings, scheduled to begin at 10am, were delayed while legal representatives met in the judge’s chambers to deal with Gessing’s application.

Gessing told the court he had informed acting judge William Karam of his unavailable dates when trial arrangements were first made.

“On February 26 I appeared before acting judge Karam and placed my periods of unavailability on record. Those dates remained unchanged when I was later instructed by Strauss Attorneys to represent accused number one,” he said.

“I also have another trial in the high court in Benoni, which was enrolled before this matter was set down. The accused in that matter is also in custody and equally entitled to a speedy and fair trial.

“Importantly, the total number of days that I am available still amounts to the 30 trial days reflected on the court roll.”

He argued that allowing another attorney to stand in for almost three weeks would prejudice his client and potentially infringe his constitutional right to a fair trial.

While the state and the legal representatives for the other accused did not oppose the application, counsel for Matlala and his wife, Annelene van der Heever, objected.

Van der Heever said neither she nor her instructing attorney had been informed that the application would be brought before court on Monday.

She argued that Karam had already ordered the trial to proceed uninterrupted and that the order remained binding unless properly challenged.

“That court order remains in force. Your Lordship is bound by it. That is the law.

“Accordingly, I submit that the matter must proceed on the dates already allocated. The law provides ample authority and opportunity for any party dissatisfied with a court order to challenge it through the proper legal process,” she added.

In his ruling, Moosa acknowledged that Karam had ordered the trial to proceed uninterrupted but said the court also had a duty to ensure that none of the accused suffered prejudice.

“The central question is whether accused numbers three and four will suffer prejudice if the matter pauses between August 11 and 28,” he said.

After calculating the allocated sitting days, Moosa found that the revised schedule still amounted to about the 30 trial days originally allocated.

“Accordingly, the court finds that no prejudice will be suffered by any party if the application is granted. That is the order of the court.”

The matter will be back in court on Tuesday.

Sowetan