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Dumisani Mkhwanazi is currently on trial in connection with the murder of Palesa Madiba.
Papi Morake, Gallo Images
- Palesa Madiba’s murder trial moved to Tuesday.
- This comes after the defendant’s attorney needed to see a doctor.
- The State did not object to the request.
The trial of the man accused of murdering Palesa Madiba, a student at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), was postponed to Tuesday at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.
This comes after a brief delay in the proceedings: defense attorney Dominic Thinani indicated that he needed to see a doctor.
The State did not object to this request and the matter was subsequently dropped.
READ | Palesa Madiba murder trial: Dumisani Mkhwanazi pleads not guilty
Dumisani Mkhwanazi faces charges of murder, aggravated robbery, defeating the administration of justice, illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The defendant previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Madiba disappeared after a pajama party at her friend Tshidi Mkhwanazi’s home in Phiri, Soweto, on August 9, 2013.
Tshidi is the niece of the accused.
On December 16, 2015, Madiba’s remains were found in a shallow grave behind Tshidi’s home after a neighbor noticed an arm sticking out of the ground, News24 reported.
READ ALSO | Close friend testifies about the last morning he spent with Palesa Madiba
On November 12, 2020, the court heard Tshidi testify about the last morning she spent with the deceased.
Testifying before Judge Prince Manyathi, Tshidi told the court that she had been friends with Madiba since elementary school.
Tshidi further told the court that on Monday, August 12, 2013, after the pajama party, her grandmother left the house at 06:30 and left at 07:00, while Madiba made bed, getting ready to go. to the UJ Soweto campus.
Tshidi lived with his grandmother and the defendant occupied one of the back rooms that he shared with his girlfriend. However, he did have access to the main house to bathe and eat, News24 reported.
Tshidi told the court that when she got to work, she tried to call Madiba, but she didn’t answer her phone, which was not her own.
When family members were unable to determine his whereabouts, a missing persons case was opened with the police.
Two years later, Tshidi told the court that she and her grandmother were out when they received a call that a body had been found inside their yard, News24 reported.
A total of 13 witnesses are expected to be called to the stand.
The matter continues on Tuesday.
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