The case against four men accused of killing the owner of gay Cape Town nightclub Bronx is to be provisionally struck off the roll if the defence gets its way.
Johan Frederick Coetzee, Fareez Allie, Achmat Toffa and Kurt Erispe appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday in connection with the murder of Bruno Bronn.
Bronn was found strangled in his Green Point home in February. He was 50.
At the time, police said Bronn had last been seen on February 6 after allegedly telling friends he was being harassed.
His domestic worker found his body the next day.
Erispe was granted R10 000 bail in February. Allie was freed on R5 000 bail.
Coetzee was granted bail of R20 000 in March. Toffa remains in custody.
The case has been postponed several times to accommodate bail applications and allow for further investigation.
During the last appearance on June 4, magistrate Chumani Giyosi warned the State that no further delays would be tolerated.
On Wednesday, prosecutor Johan Swartz told the court that the post-mortem report, along with photographs of the crime scene and cellphone records of the accused, had been added to the docket.
“The DNA and fingerprints lifted from certain exhibits still need to be processed as noted by a Directorate of Public Prosecutions official,” Swartz said.
“The only thing left is to exclude (Bronn’s) fingerprints. These have been prioritised, but the DNA analyst is sick.
“However, this will be available by the end of July.”
Swartz said the indictments should be ready by August 15.
The State would be ready for a pretrial hearing at the Western Cape High Court on August 31.
Toffa’s defence lawyer, William Booth, argued that the State was prejudicing the accused by seeking “unnecessary” postponements.
“The State could still recall the matter and recharge the accused if the matter were to be taken off the roll,” Booth said. “It would be impossible to draft the indictments without the DNA reports.”
Swartz then said that a postponement four months into the case would not be “unreasonable”.
Magistrate Zwelidumile Sogwagwa postponed the case until July 10 for a ruling on the matter.
Outside the court, Booth said Toffa’s bail application would be held back pending Tuesday’s outcome.
Toffa’s application could not be heard two weeks ago because of congestion on the court roll.
Investigating officer Sergeant Mervyn Bezuidenhout has said the State has a strong case against Toffa and the other three men.
He feared that if Toffa was released on bail, he would have free rein to intimidate or interfere with witnesses, Bezuidenhout said.
In a sworn statement handed to the court, Coetzee said that Toffa told him he would be shot dead if he told the truth during the trial.
Cape Times