Johannesburg - The defence and State in Radovan Krejcir’s murder trial were at each other’s throats on Tuesday, both blaming the other for delaying tactics and misleading the court.
Krejcir, Siboniso Miya, Nkanyiso Mafunda, Siphiwe Memela and Borislavov Grigorov are on trial for the 2013 murder of Sam Issa, an alleged Bedfordview drug kingpin.
Their trial at 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 Tuesday, the defence started the accusations against prosecutor Lawrence Gcaba. They said the information they had received from the State was incomplete.
But Gcaba was quick to retaliate, saying he had provided the data in physical form early last week and in an email on Friday.
He said the defence had waited until 7am on Tuesday to send an email about the issue.
Advocate Annelene van den Heever, who represents Miya, warned that if the trial didn't start soon, she would launch an application to ask the court to conduct an inquiry into the reasons.
However, Gcaba insisted the State had been ready since April, and it was the defence who wasn't prepared.
Judge Winston Mihloti Msimeki didn't entertain the two sides, allowing them until Thursday to resolve the disclosure of evidence.
The Star