Presiding judge Kate Pillay adjourned the matter to September 15 for pretrial proceedings. She also set down the trial from October 31 to December 2.
Pillay said both the state and the defence should use the time to exchange particulars before the pretrial.
Cele later told the crowd who gathered outside the court: “I have never seen such a resistance of starting. Even the things the state is saying is outstanding; the state is saying give us today and tomorrow,” said Cele.
He remained hopeful that the case would eventually get under way this year.
He said while he did not want to get into the merits of the case, he was concerned.
“It’s five years already. For the sake of the deceased and the sake of the mother, who is not well, to know what really happened. It is sad that people find it comfortable to deal with such a matter for such a long time,” said Cele
Thabiso Zulu, a friend of Magaqa’s, told supporters that some ANC politicians appeared to use Magaqa’s name for electioneering at elective conferences.
“They come with branded T-shirts with Sindiso’s name. They pretend as if they care about the livelihood of Magaqa’s family ... They should never use his name to get money,” said Zulu.
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Bheki Cele concerned about delays in Magaqa murder trial
Image: Mfundo Mkhize
National police minister Bheki Cele has expressed concern about the delays in the murder trial of former ANC Youth League secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa.
He was speaking to ANC supporters who gathered outside the Pietermaritzburg high court on Wednesday where his alleged killers appeared.
Magaqa was gunned down in 2017 in his hometown of uMzimkhulu on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast and succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
Sbonelo Myeza, 39, Mbulelo Mpofana, 34, Ncalane, 33, and Sibusiso Ncengwa, 30, have been charged with his murder.
Presiding judge Kate Pillay adjourned the matter to September 15 for pretrial proceedings. She also set down the trial from October 31 to December 2.
Pillay said both the state and the defence should use the time to exchange particulars before the pretrial.
Cele later told the crowd who gathered outside the court: “I have never seen such a resistance of starting. Even the things the state is saying is outstanding; the state is saying give us today and tomorrow,” said Cele.
He remained hopeful that the case would eventually get under way this year.
He said while he did not want to get into the merits of the case, he was concerned.
“It’s five years already. For the sake of the deceased and the sake of the mother, who is not well, to know what really happened. It is sad that people find it comfortable to deal with such a matter for such a long time,” said Cele
Thabiso Zulu, a friend of Magaqa’s, told supporters that some ANC politicians appeared to use Magaqa’s name for electioneering at elective conferences.
“They come with branded T-shirts with Sindiso’s name. They pretend as if they care about the livelihood of Magaqa’s family ... They should never use his name to get money,” said Zulu.
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READ MORE:
Outstanding ballistic report leads to yet another delay in Sindiso Magaqa's murder trial
Family faces fresh delays in case as defence calls for murder-accused’s psychiatric assessment
More than 60 witnesses as Magaqa murder trial set to start in PMB on Monday
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