Krejcir in legal funds dilemma

Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir's murder trial has been postponed. Picture: Motlabana Monnakgotla

Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir's murder trial has been postponed. Picture: Motlabana Monnakgotla

Published Oct 6, 2016

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Johannesburg - As Radovan Krejcir’s murder trial is postponed for the umpteenth time, it appears the Czech fugitive is on the verge of losing yet another lawyer.

Krejcir, Siboniso Miya, Nkanyiso Mafunda, Siphiwe Memela and Borislavov Grigorov are currently on trial for the 2013 murder of Sam Issa, an alleged drug kingpin from Bedfordview who was shot in his car in the Ekurhuleni suburb.

However, the start of the trial in the high court in Joburg has been delayed since April due to numerous issues, from changing legal representation of the accused to delays in disclosure of evidence.

On Wednesday, yet another obstacle emerged after Krejcir’s newest lawyer, advocate James Grant, told the court that when the trial was expected to start on Tuesday, he may not be able to represent the Czech unless an “issue” was resolved.

While the court was not made privy to the reasons for this, The Star has learnt through sources close to the investigation that once again, Krejcir’s mother, Nadezda Krejcirova, has refused to pay for her son’s legal fees.

While Grant could not be drawn to comment on the allegation, he told the court on Wednesday that he hoped the issue would be resolved by on Friday, when Krejcir appears yet again in the same court.

After other lawyers dropped Krejcir, with the most recent, Cliff Alexander, also citing a lack of funds, the Czech earlier said he had approached 12 different law firms to represent him. Grant later agreed to take on his case.

Krejcirova was initially responsible for providing the R500 000 bail money for his fraud case in 2012, and has been the source of cash for Krejcir’s legal fees since his arrest years ago.

Meanwhile, Miya has also revealed to the court that he is struggling to secure funds for his lawyer, advocate Annelene van den Heever. On Wednesday, Van den Heever said the State had been instrumental in preventing her client from reclaiming certain assets seized by the police since his arrest.

Krejcir will return to court on Friday.

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The Star

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