Sandiso Phaliso
The trial of artist and photographer Zwelethu Mthethwa, accused of murdering an alleged sex worker, was postponed in the Western Cape High Court yesterday to give the defence an opportunity to collect evidence.
Mthethwa, who lives in Durban and is on R100 000 bail, is alleged to have murdered Nokuphila Kumalo, 23, in April 2013.
The State alleges Mthethwa kicked and trampled her body repeatedly. Mthethwa is known for his photographs, paintings, and pastels of people in townships, informal settlements, and rural areas.
He has exhibited widely in the US, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa and Switzerland.
Yesterday his lawyer, William Booth, asked for a postponement because their experts had not been allowed access to property where they could gather evidence to support their case.
He said much of the evidence in this matter rested in technical evidence and defence experts.
“These are private venues and (it) has been difficult to gain access,” Booth said, adding that asking for the postponement was not a “tactical delay”. With the venue in question inaccessible, Booth said, “we are clearly not ready to proceed with the case”.
State prosecutor Christenus van der Vijver told the court he knew Booth’s experts were being denied access to the venue and he would see to it that they were allowed access.
The trial was adjourned to this afternoon to allow Booth to attend the funeral of attorney Jack Segal.
But Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat) is not happy about the postponement, saying it hoped it is not the defence using delaying tactics.
Sweat Advocacy manager Cherith Sange said it was not acceptable to have another postponement.
Referring to the postponement for Segal’s funeral, she said: “I hope this is not a delaying tactic by the defence.”
However, she believed the postponement because of inaccessibility to a certain venue was “understandable”.
“We believe this case should be prioritised. We hope there will be no further delays,” she said.