Maqubela's bail inquiry delayed

Thandi Maqubela, widow of slain high court judge Patrick Maqubela, made no progress in her bail inquiry in the Western Cape High Court on Friday.

She will remain in police cells for another week.

Maqubela was out on R100,000 bail, but was taken back into custody after failing to appear in court in July.

Police executing the warrant for Maqubela’s arrest found her at the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg.

An inquiry into the reason for her failure to appear “despite the fact that she was in hospital” was initiated by senior State advocate Bonnie Currie-Gamwo.

Presiding Judge John Murphy told Maqubela last month her bail would be reinstated if he ruled after the inquiry that she was not at fault for her failure to appear on July 25.

At the inquiry last week on Friday, she was questioned by her defence team, advocate Philip Higgo and attorney Howard Rubenstein.

Maqubela explained that she had been in hospital for electrocardiogram procedures on the Monday that she was to have appeared in court.

Currie-Gamwo and State advocate Pedro van Wyk began their cross-examination of Maqubela on Friday.

Although the hearing was scheduled for 10am, lengthy discussions in the judge’s chambers again delayed the proceedings.

The case was only called after midday.

When proceedings finally started, Currie-Gamwo put on record that the bail inquiry had become protracted and that the trial itself, scheduled for next month, “was looming”.

She said yet another postponement of the bail inquiry, to next Friday, had been agreed on.

A pre-trial conference, previously set for September 16, was now scheduled for 23 September.

No reasons were given on Friday for the failure of the bail inquiry to continue as scheduled, although Higgo had a short consultation with Maqubela prior to the case being called.