Johannesburg - The case of alleged animal cruelty against National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise was on Wednesday postponed in the Potchefstroom Regional Court.
Modise, who is being prosecuted privately by AfriForum, appeared before the Potchefstroom Regional Court on charges of animal cruelty for a 2004 case where she allegedly left her North West farm unattended. This allegedly resulted in the death of 50 pigs and other animals, as no one had been sanctioned to look after the livestoc
k.
There was speculation around June this year that a warrant of arrest had been issued for the Speaker of the National Assembly in relation to the alleged crime, but these were refuted by Parliament.
Modise appeared before the same court in July this year. AfriForum's head of the private prosecution unit, Advocate Gerrie Nel will be acting on behalf of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) in the case as the NPA refused to prosecute, said the organisation.
In a statement, AfriForum said the final date for the hearing will be set down at the end of next week when Modise will have received her parliamentary programme.
The court provisionally announced the 24th to 27th March 2020 as the date of the trial. The court will stick to this period only if Modise will not be needed to fulfil her role as the Speaker of the National Assembly.
“AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit welcomes the fact that a date has been set for the trial, so that Modise can finally answer for this cruel case of animal abuse. Not even the Speaker of Parliament should be able to evade prosecution merely because she is a high-placed political figure. Our involvement underlines the respect we have for the selfless work of the NSPCA,” said Elias Maangwale, an investigator at AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit.