State applies for trial to proceed without Isis-linked murder accused who refuse to attend court

The state has applied for the trial of three Isis-linked murder accused in the Durban high court to continue without their presence in court.

This comes after the trial of the accused linked to the murder of international botanists Rodney Charles Saunders, 74, and his wife, Dr Rachel May Saunders, 74, hit yet another snag on Thursday morning.

Sayfudeen Aslam Del Vecchio, 41, his wife Bibi Fatima Patel, 30, and Malawian Mussa Ahmed Jackson, 35, are charged with kidnapping, robbery, theft and the murders of the couple in February 2018 in the Eshowe area.

Senior prosecutor Mahendra Naidu said on Thursday the accused were in the court holding cells but elected not to attend trial proceedings. This comes after repeated attempts by the trio to delay the trial since April last year.

“The record demonstrates that this court has repeatedly warned the accused of their right to be present in court for their trial and the repercussions of not attending,” said Naidu.

He said their legal representatives were also repeatedly asked by the court to explain the right of the accused not to be present in court during the trial as well as provisions of section 159 (1) of the Criminal Procedures Act which allow the trial to continue in their absence.

There is no apparent reason as to why they cannot continue to cross-examine the witnesses in the absence of the accused. This will prevent any further disruptions and delays in the further conduct of the matter

—  Mahendra Naidu, senior prosecutor

“Despite these warnings the accused continue to absent themselves from these proceedings. The effect of their absence from these proceedings is that the trial is disrupted and unable to proceed. Many court hours have have already been lost due to the absence of the accused.”

Naidu said the defence has repeatedly taken instructions from the accused and cross- examined witnesses based on the instructions.

“There is no apparent reason as to why they cannot continue to cross-examine the witnesses in the absence of the accused. This will prevent any further disruptions and delays in the further conduct of the matter.”

Senior prosecutor Kalaivani Govender, who is Naidu’s supervisor, submitted the application.

When the court resumed on Thursday, judge Esther Steyn was informed the trio were reluctant to come up from the holding cells.

Shaheen Seedat, who represents the couple, said his clients did not receive medication and were refusing to come up to court. He said this is despite him informing the pair that their presence was required in court.

Patrick Mkhumbuzi, who represents Jackson, said he had also informed his client about the importance of attending the court proceedings.

Steyn stood down the matter to deal with unrelated pretrial matters on the court roll but said it will continue.

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