Pretoria - Judge Papi Masopa will be hoping for no further delays in the murder trial of slain businessman Wandile Bozwana as the matter was postponed for a third day in the North Gauteng High Court with very little progress made.
Masopa had to stand down the matter yet again today as the legal representative for Sipho Hudla, one of the four men accused of killing Bozwana in 2015, indicated that they required more time to prepare for their defence.
The legal representative said she still required copies of exhibits that were handed in yesterday as well as for MTN maps to be lifted and provided to them.
Lastly for them to consult with their witness and to meet with the forensic team to go through CCTV footage handed in by the state.
The trial against Mamelodi's so-called No 1 tsotsi Vusi "Khekhe" Mathibela, and his co-accused Matamela Robert Mutapa, Bonginkosi Khumalo and Hudla has been stalled partly due to the death of Hudla’s lawyer, advocate JP Marais who passed away two months prior from a heart attack.
As a result the new defence team has been trying to get up to speed with the matter.
Hudla's legal representative indicated they had a "fruitful" consultation with him yesterday due to the arrangement made with the head of prison at the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional facility where the men are being detained, as they were able to consult well into the afternoon.
Masopa indicated he was unhappy with the delays in the matter as the week was almost through with very little progress made into the matter.
He granted the postponement to tomorrow to see to it that the defence were provided all of the evidence they required for the trial to proceed without further delays.
It is alleged that on Mathibela's instruction the three men shot and killed Bozwana as he and his partner Mpho Baloyi had stopped at a traffic light at the Garsfontein off ramp off the N1 highway in Pretoria.
Although injured Baloyi managed to drive on to seek help however Bozwana succumbed to his injuries shortly after arriving at the Unitas hospital.
Pretoria News