Two high-profile court cases, expected to start on Monday, have been shifted due to the public holiday declared for the local government elections.
The trial of murder accused Luthando Siyoni, alleged middleman in the murder of Jayde Panayiotou, and of the man accused of the rape and murder of 85-year-old Hazel Higgins are now expected to start on Tuesday.
Siyoni went on the run for nearly six months after he was declared a hostile witness and charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder were reinstated.
He had turned state witness in the trial against Panayiotou’s husband, Christopher.
Christopher and Sinethemba Nenembe were found guilty of murder while Zolani Sibeko was found guilty on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
Christopher was sentenced to life in prison in November 2017.
Siyoni, a former employee of Christopher, was declared a hostile witness by a high court judge after he failed to answer questions put to him and changed his version of events.
He was rearrested in May 2019 at his Kutali Street, Kwazakhele, home.
Defence advocate Siphokazi Cubungu will be representing him in his trial.
Meanwhile, the trial of a 30-year-old Gqeberha man accused of a string of offences including housebreaking, murder and rape is expected to start on the same day.
The man, who is not being named as he has not yet pleaded to the rape charge, faces 25 charges including nine counts of housebreaking with the intent to rob, eight counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, five counts of kidnapping, one charge of theft, and the rape and murder of Higgins.
Higgins, who had been raped, had her hands tied behind her back and was suffocated in her Kruger Gardens cottage in Summerstrand on March 28 2014.
It is alleged that between December 2013 and October 2017 the man committed nine housebreakings in the Summerstrand and Lorraine areas alone.
HeraldLIVE