Durban — The family of a Pinetown man allegedly killed by his brother-in-law and two hit men purportedly hired by his wife, hope there will be no further delays when the trial again resumes next month.
Nomphumelelo Patricia Goncalves, a nurse, is charged along with her brother Nkosinathi Steve Zungu for the alleged murder of Nkosi Timmy Langa, who was employed by Transnet at the time of his killing.
The trial began in May and ran into June and in the midst of it one of the alleged hit men, now a State witness, testified. Goncalves did not arrive in court after being there the previous day and instead, a doctor’s note was sent on her behalf.
It is believed that she had tried to end her life. At that time her attorney, SG Zwane, told the court that “unfortunately my client is not here; subsequent to her diagnosis she was referred to a psychiatric hospital for treatment”.
The court, following this, issued a warrant for her arrest, Her defence said had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Howick. She was expected to remain there for two to three weeks, with an estimated recovery time of one to two months.
Last month she presented herself at court and the matter was adjourned to this week for Goncalves to appear alongside Zungu.
The new trial dates were set in court for September 19 to 29.
On Tuesday, Langa’s older sister, Zodwa Langa, said they had been waiting for the trial to resume.
“It hurts a lot for all of us as a family to have endured this delay. If Patricia did not cause the delay by being admitted the trial would most probably be nearly finished by now. The delay has left us in limbo without knowing the outcome and without any closure.”
She said the finalisation of the case and sentencing would bring the family some closure.
Daily News