Henning murder trial postponed

The trial of two of the men accused of plotting to murder Chanelle Henning near her son's crèche in 2011 was delayed for a second time by the High Court in Pretoria on Monday.

Acting Judge Johan Kruger postponed the trial of former Olympic athlete Ambrose Monye and Andre Gouws to May 13, because his assessor was ill.

Monye and Gouws have pleaded not guilty to the November 2011 murder of Henning, who was the estranged wife of Gouws's friend Nico Henning.

The young mother was shot dead in her car shortly after dropping off her child at a crèche in Faerie Glen, Pretoria.

Her self-confessed killers, Gerhardus du Plessis and former policeman Willem (Pike) Pieterse, testified that Monye and Gouws planned the murder and "roped them in" to do the dirty work.

Du Plessis, who admitted pulling the trigger, and Pieterse, are serving 18-year prison terms under a plea bargain agreement with the State.

Monye's advocate Matthew Klein told the court during a previous appearance that five members of a specialised team assaulted his client in his cell on three occasions.

His dreadlocks were allegedly forcibly shorn off during the assaults. Monye had laid charges.

Klein said his client's eye and back were injured during the alleged assaults. He also complained of pain in his kidneys.

On Monday, Klein told reporters Monye's condition had improved, but that he was still on pain medication. He said Monye's complaints had not yet been investigated.

A police cellphone analysis expert testified last year that Gouws had deleted from his cellphone all records of his communication with Monye and Henning's husband Nico.

Captain Francois Moller had recovered this call data, and photographs which had been deleted from Gouws's phone. The photos included images of road signs near Henning's house, and of the crèche near where she was shot.

Moller also obtained CCTV footage which appeared to show Gouws's bakkie and motorcycle in the road outside Henning's complex on October 25 and 26 2011, and again on November 4, four days before the murder.