LISTEN | Suspect in Senzo Meyiwa murder will be moved from C-Max jail after solitary confinement complaint

The Pretoria high court has ordered that Mthobisi Prince Mncube be moved from the maximum-security section of the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre in Pretoria to another facility.

Mncube, one of five men on trial for the murder of footballer Senzo Meyiwa, said he had been incarcerated in the maximum-security section of the prison since December 2020. He said his continued incarceration in “solitary confinement” affected his right to a fair trial and he had suffered an emotional breakdown last month.

Judge Jan Swanepoel ruled on Tuesday he should be relocated to either his centre of origin, which is Johannesburg's Sun City prison, or another suitable maximum-security centre.

“The fact that a person is awaiting trial in a so-called 'high profile' or 'critical' case is not, in terms of the standard operating procedures, a basis for the indefinite incarceration of that person in C-Max,” he said.

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“There are murder trials held every day in which the accused are not incarcerated in C-Max. There are co-accused in the same trial as him who are not incarcerated in C-Max. The question remains: what sets him apart from the others who are on trial in the same or in similar matters, but are not incarcerated in C-Max? That question is not answered in these papers.”

Granting the request for a move, the judge said Mncube would continue to be incarcerated in a maximum-security facility and as a result would stand trial. There was no prejudice to the state.

However, “should he be moved from C-Max, his mental health may well improve with exposure to other prisoners and to more normal conditions”.

Swanepoel struck a similar request by Mncube's co-accused Fisokuhle Ntuli from the roll for a lack of urgency.

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