Alleged axeman Joseph Ntshongwana came across as a completely different person when he appeared in the Durban Regional Court on Monday.
Well-dressed and calm, he greeted relatives who were sitting in the public gallery and engaged with the magistrate and his lawyer.
At his first court appearance, the former Blue Bulls flanker was so agitated, five policemen could not keep him in the dock. On Monday, he still seemed disoriented.
A district surgeon had found him fit to stand trial, but prosecutor Martin Mtambo said the State had agreed that he would be sent to Fort Napier Hospital for mental observation. He told Magistrate Anita Govender on Monday that a bed had been secured at the institution at the end of June, four months earlier than expected.
According to a medical report, Ntshongwana – who allegedly murdered three men in as many days and attempted to murder another – has been diagnosed a schizophrenic with bipolar disorder, and has spent time in mental hospitals.
He is charged with murdering Thembelenkosini Cebekhulu in Montclair on March 20 and, two days later, Paulos Hlongwa in Lamontville and an unknown man in Umbilo.
The attempted murder charge relates to another incident in Lamontville, on March 22, when he allegedly hit Khayelani Mdluli with an axe. He is also charged with assaulting Mhleli Tholo with a baton in December last year. He will appear in court again on June 23 and will go to Fort Napier the next day, where he will stay for at least two weeks. - The Mercury