The state has brought in one of its top prosecutors to go after Jason Rohde‚ the estate agency boss accused of murdering his wife at a Cape wine farm.
Louis van Niekerk will be on duty for the first time on Friday when Rohde is expected to make a brief appearance in Stellenbosch Magistrate’s Court. The case is expected to be postponed until July 25.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said the state had completed its investigation into Rohde.
Rohde’s attorney‚ Daniel Witz‚ said they were not certain why Van Niekerk had replaced Carien Theunissen as the prosecutor. “I haven’t come across advocate Van Niekerk previously so I’m not sure about his track record‚” he said. “He’s been very collegial and we’ve been assisting each other to try and move this case forward but at the moment‚ with the state appointing a new prosecutor‚ they need time for him to consider his position.”
Rohde’s lawyers have repeatedly asked the court to allow them full disclosure into the state’s case‚ and they previously objected to leaks of sensitive information to the press.
This week‚ it was reported that a medical examination of Rohde four days after his wife’s death revealed fresh scratches on his back.
Witz said NPA head Shaun Abrahams was “dealing with the Western Cape prosecuting authority in order to investigate how this leak was made”.
He added: “The state pathology report was also leaked. We’re not certain how because we haven’t received disclosure yet‚ but for some reason the media is in possession of the state pathology report as well as the examination of Mr Rohde himself.”
Rohde claims his wife‚ Susan‚ mother of their three daughters‚ committed suicide by hanging herself from the bathroom door of the hotel at Spier wine estate in July 2016.
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