A trial of six men accused of raping and murdering Cytheria Rex in Kraaifontein has been postponed for the 117th time.
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On Friday, Rex’s family handed a petition with 150 signatures to the Blue Downs Regional Court, hoping that the case would no longer be delayed after it had already been postponed for 116 times. Instead, it was postponed again due to the withdrawal of a lawyer.
Rex was raped and stabbed more than 40 times. Police found her remains in a field in Eikendal, Kraaifontein in February 2009.
IOL reports that Virgil Sass, Oswill Grootboom, Imeraan Hendricks, Lee Cloete, Rhonwen Rhode, and Keenan Lewis allegedly asked to be discharged and freed. A seventh accused, Warren Robertson, was murdered in 2017. Grootboom, Rhode and Lewis only appeared after the court was in session, and offered no explanation for being late. Court officials allegedly also did not look further into this. The court was reportedly ready to execute warrants of arrest for them.
The matter has again been postponed to 13 July so that a new lawyer can be appointed. To date, the case has been postponed 50 times due to a lawyer or judicial care issue, and 22 times due to the absenteeism of the accused.
James Rasmus, Rex’s uncle, says the family is disappointed at the delay. ‘We want to know why this lawyer did not submit his forms of withdrawal before the case was on the court roll today as he knew this two weeks before. We are very upset, the parents are sick and tired of the postponements. Today it is the legal aid that is causing the delay. Now the case cannot move to the Cape High Court as it is here at this court and now we come here and it is a waste of time as nothing happens.’
Eric Ntabazalila, of the National Prosecuting Authority, says the accused’s legal team had asked for a discharge during their last court appearance on 27 February, as the magistrate’s contract had ended. However, the magistrate informed the court on Friday that he would preside over the trial, despite the fact that it will be moved to another courthouse soon.
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