Durban - There were more twists and turns in the Sandra Munsamy case on Tuesday when the men accused of kidnapping the Durban businesswoman did not come to court, and two of the four men’s legal team withdrew from representing them.
The men, who cannot be identified, are accused of kidnapping Munsamy on May 30 last year. They are expected to appear in the Durban Regional Court on Wednesday.
Hawks national spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said the four could not be named because of “highly sensitive information” which could not be made public yet. The four suspects, aged from 30 to 34, face charges of kidnapping, extortion and attempted murder.
The men did not appear in court on Tuesday because of a problem with the logistics transporting prisoners, said State prosecutor Kuveshni Pillay.
BDK Attorneys, acting for two of the men, withdrew from representing them, without providing reasons for doing so.
Mxolisi Nxasana, the former provincial director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, who is now in private practice, will represent all of the accused.
The men had been moved to the Ebongweni C-Max Correctional Services in Kokstad - prompting an outcry from their legal team. Nxasana wanted to know why his clients had been moved. Nxasana said it was difficult to travel to consult with his clients.
Nxasana said Pillay had handed him a letter from the Department of Correctional Services.
The letter from the area co-ordinator of corrections, NG Dlamini, says that high-risk prisoners must not be incarcerated in unsafe prisons. It adds that the police are allowed to share information on offenders with correctional services officials on request.
“In fact, the head of centre must become conversant with the type of offender entrusted to their care,” Dlamini wrote.
Dlamini states that the offender is, however, entitled to legal representation irrespective of the centre of incarceration.
Magistrate Anand Maharaj adjourned the matter until today.
Munsamy, a mother of two, was kidnapped at the corner of Stapleton Road and the M13 in Pinetown in May 2019. She was rescued unharmed from a house in eMalahleni (Witbank), in November 2019.