Johannesburg - New evidence has prompted the nine police officers implicated in the death of Daveyton taxi driver Mido Macia to re-apply for bail.
The officers appeared in the Benoni Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, when their bail application was set for July 30.
The court heard that alternative addresses for the accused had to be verified before the newly-found evidence was presented.
Speaking to journalists outside the court, defence attorney Patrick Sithole said he was confident about the new evidence.
He said the policemen were frustrated because they had spent months behind bars following the death of the Mozambican taxi driver.
Sithole represents one of the accused, while Benny Ndaba represents the others.
Prosecutor December Nthimunye said the delay in the case could be blamed on the defence attorneys, whom he accused of dragging their feet.
He argued that the addresses should have been verified before proceedings.
The court was packed to capacity by the officers' relatives. The policemen, who were all well-dressed, walked into the courtroom and started looking for their relatives while they made their way into the dock.
One of them joked with two female relatives sitting on the bench directly behind him before proceedings began. Another gave a thumbs up sign to a group of men in the gallery.
Macia was filmed being tied to the back of a police van and dragged along a street in Daveyton on February 26. Police had confronted him because his taxi was apparently blocking traffic. A scuffle ensued. He was found dead in the local police station's holding cells several hours later.
The accused are Thamsanqa Ncema, 35, Linda Sololo, 56, Meshack Malele, 45, Motome Walter Ramatlou, 37, Percy Mnisi, 26, Bongumusa Mdluli, 25, Sipho Ngobeni, 30, Lungisa Ewababa, 31, and Bongani Kolisi, 27. - Sapa