Cape Town - The accused in the killing of prominent lawyer Pete Mihalik struggled to find legal representation after several lawyers were threatened.
The case has been set down for pre-trial purposes in the Western Cape High Court and Dudley Johnson will represent the two accused, Sizwe Biyela and Nkosinathi Khumalo.
Third accused, Vuyile Maliti, is represented by Jannie Kruger from Johannesburg.
The purpose of the proceedings was to make sure all relevant papers were ready as well as the legal representations has been sorted so that a trial date can be set.
Kruger said: “A representative from our firm will attend the proceedings on Friday and will inform me accordingly.
“I will then take instructions.”
Mihalik was gunned down in October 2018 in Green Point while dropping off his children at school.
The trio are charged with murder, attempted murder and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Since the killing of Mihalik both Biyela and Khumalo, alleged hired hitmen from Kwazulu-Natal, have been battling to get legal representation. There was a reluctance from lawyers in the province to represent them and even Kruger received threatening calls to abandon appearing for Maliti.
The indictment states that the trio’s cellphone records linked them to the crime and Biyela and Khumalo, in their affidavits, implicated Maliti as the one who planned the murder.
The State’s case is strengthened by CCTV footage showing Biyela waiting for Mihalik’s car to stop and drop off his children, then walked up to the car, took out a gun and fired shots hitting Mihalik in the head and injuring his son.
State prosecutor Helena Booysen said last year when bail was denied for the trio, the State was ready to proceed with the trial.
@TheCapeArgus