Government ministers and Cosatu leaders are expected to attend the case of the so-called sugarcane serial killer.
Women, Children and Persons with Disability Minister Lulu Xingwane, deputy police minister Makhotso Magdalene, Cosatu provincial secretary Zet Luzipo and culture MEC Weziwe Thusi will apparently attend.
Both the defence and the State were expected to present closing arguments before Judge King Ndlovu in the Scottburgh High Court.
Thozamile Taki, the alleged serial killer and his co-accused girlfriend, Hlengiwe Nene have been in custody since their arrest in 2007.
Judgment was expected early next year, depending on the availability of a suitable date.
Taki is accused of robbing and killing 13 women and dumping their bodies in sugarcane plantations in Umzinto, KwaZulu-Natal, and in tea plantations in Port St Johns, in the Eastern Cape.
Nene is charged as an accessory to the 13 robberies.
The couple were cohabiting in Chatsworth when they were arrested.
KwaZulu-Natal ANC spokesperson Mthunzi Gumede said the party's Women's League would picket outside the court on Thursday.
Luzipo said Cosatu leaders had decided to join the picket to highlight the importance of preventing women and children abuse.
“It is further aimed at sympathising with the families of the victims. We firmly believe that unemployment and joblessness have a direct contribution to the alleged killing of these innocent women,” he said.
The state alleges that Taki lured his victims by promising them jobs before killing them.
The state has called more than 100 witnesses. -
Sapa