Johannesburg - The man accused of murdering Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s son has finally been admitted to Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital, where it will be determined if he can be held liable for the crime.
Carlos Higuera has waited more than 10 months in police custody since the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court ruled he should be sent to the facility for mental observation.
According to his family, Higuera – who allegedly fatally stabbed Chumani Nqakula after a scuffle between the pair at a house in Bezuidenhout Valley in October last year – has a history of mental illness.
On Monday, he appeared in the high court where the State announced that he was finally at the top of the waiting list for a bed at the psychiatric hospital.
While magistrate Albertus Roux apologised to the accused for the lengthy wait, he said it was up to psychiatrists at the institution to decide whether Higuera was mentally fit to stand trial.
Over the next 30 days it will be determined whether he had the capacity to understand right and wrong at the time of the alleged offence.
If he is found to have no such moral capacity, he cannot be held criminally liable. A full report on Higuera’s mental health is expected to be provided to the court on October 18.
Lawyer Jabulani Maluleke has argued since November that his client was too mentally unstable to be tried.
Higuera’s father, George, testified at the time that his son had been diagnosed in 2010 with schizophrenia after the deaths of his mother and his girlfriend.
He allegedly heard voices in his head telling him what to do, and that just a few days before the attack on Chumani, the accused’s medication had been altered.