Khekhe moved out of C-Max after a threat of court action

Controversial taxi boss Vusi “Khekhe” Mathibela spent Tuesday night in the remand section of the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre in Pretoria after being moved from the centre’s maximum C-Max section.

The Pretoria High Court heard on Wednesday, shortly before the proceedings adjourned for the day, that Mathibela, dubbed “Mamelodi's No 1 Tsotsi”, was the reason for the delay in the start of the proceedings, which were supposed to start  at 9am instead of 10am.

The court heard Mathibela was not on time for collection of inmates for transportation to court, as he had been moved to the remand section overnight.

The abrupt prison move comes after Mathibela’s legal team filed an urgent application with the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday to have the correctional services department declared in contempt of court.

The department had put Mathibela in the C-Max -  a section of Kgosi Mampuru II correctional centre that houses some of South Africa's most dangerous criminals - and it had refused to move him, even after Mathibela had obtained an order from the high court in August that he be returned to the remand section of the prison.

TimesLIVE reported that the department cited an error in the order, which it said made it “unenforceable”. The matter will be heard on Thursday as an urgent matter.

TimesLIVE understands that other defence attorneys are also planning to submit papers to have their clients moved from C-Max.

Mathibela and co-accused Sipho Patrick Hudla, 40, Matamela Robert Mutapa, 46, and Bonginkosi Paul Khumalo, 42, were in court for the start of sentencing proceedings on Wednesday.

They were convicted on June 23 of murdering North West businessman Wandile Bozwana and attempting to murder his business partner, Mpho Baloyi, on the Garsfontein off-ramp in Tshwane in October 2015.

Prosecutor Jennifer Cronje told the court that Hudla, Mathibela and Khumalo had no previous convictions. She said Mutapa had a conviction of assault with intent to inflict grievous  bodily harm and that of negligent driving.

A clinical psychologist who prepared a report on each of the four men told the court that results of the depression inventory, together with clinical impressions, indicate that Mathibela experienced symptoms of major depression.

She said Mathibela endorsed "sadness, pessimism, past failure, loss of pleasure, guilt feelings, punishment feelings, self-dislike, suicidal thoughts or wishes, crying, agitation, loss of energy, changes in sleeping pattern, irritability, changes in appetite, concentration difficulty, and tiredness or fatigue".

The psychologist, whom the court ordered should not be named, said Mathibela also showed symptoms of severe anxiety and residual symptoms of a post-traumatic stress disorder.

“The clinical interview and assessment procedure reveal that Mathibela presents with symptoms which meet the diagnostic criteria of a generalised anxiety disorder, symptoms which meet the diagnostic criteria of a major depressive disorder, residual symptoms of a post-traumatic stress disorder and symptoms of a personality disorder (mixed features),” she said.

According to the psychologist, Mathibela reported having serious medical health concerns that cannot be treated in prison, “this is however deferred to the opinion of the relevant medical experts".

“He has been in remand detention for three and a half years, which has led to feelings of powerlessness, hopelessness and despondency.

"It is crucial to consider the period that he has been detained as he has constantly dealt with the anxiety and uncertainty of his sentencing. The powerlessness of uncertainty can become more punitive than the knowing itself, which contributes to his current mental state,” she said.

The psychologist said awaiting sentencing has resulted in Mathibela losing meaningful interaction, losing reputation, severing of family ties, the undermining of physical health and mental health, and loss of work, financial security and career.

According to her report,  Mathibela was also struggling to cope with the solitary confinement, and a decline in mental health was noted in the schizoid presentation.

The matter is expected to continue on Thursday.

TimesLIVE

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