South African court postpones murder case over lawyer’s absence — TimesLIVE
The High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, postponed the hearing in the case against Vusimusi Mtombeni and Tapelo Phaswane, who face charges including murder, extortion, kidnapping, robbery and malicious damage to property. The hearing did not begin because Mtombeni’s new lawyer, referred to in court as Malope, failed to appear at the hearing.
As TimesLIVE reports, Judge Papi Mosopa instructed the prosecution to try to contact the defence lawyer and establish his whereabouts. After a short adjournment, prosecutor David Molokomme said that it had not been possible to reach the lawyer. The judge postponed the case until the following day.
Extortion charges
According to the indictment, in 2023 Mtombeni and Phaswane allegedly extorted money from residents of the Mamelodi East Ext 17 informal settlement for services such as water and electricity. Those who refused to pay were, according to investigators, threatened by the accused with murder and other consequences.
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The prosecution alleges that in April 2023, both accused dragged Nancy Maria Mokwena from her boyfriend’s home to an open area, struck her with a shovel and then set her on fire. The woman died from her injuries.
Other incidents in the case
Mtombeni and Phaswane are also charged with damaging the property of Moses Malefo — according to investigators, they dismantled his temporary dwelling. Other charges concern the alleged kidnapping of Mildren Phato, the theft of her phone and the dismantling of her dwelling. The indictment states that Phato was beaten with an electrical cable with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Mtombeni is separately accused of assaulting Mpho Mogashoa and attempting to extort 4,000 rand from him, as well as extorting the same amount from Elizabeth Ngwako. According to the prosecution, he threatened to damage or disconnect her electricity supply, as well as kill her or make her disappear. Prosecution witnesses are expected to include doctors, police officers and surviving victims.
