It appears that Nafiz Modack is struggling to pay for his legal fees, as he has not given his new lawyer a guarantee that he will be paid.
Also read: Special court to be built in Goodwood Prison for Nafiz Modack trial
Judge Nathan Erasmus was recently informed that Modack, whose murder and racketeering trial is taking place at the Western Cape High Court, has not been able to raise more money for his defence, nor has he appointed a Legal Aid lawyer. ‘In the position he is finding himself in, it is not a lucrative income-generating facility.’
According to News24, Modack’s new lawyer, Schalk van der Merwe, is still waiting for confirmation that he will be paid by Modack for the duration of his VAT trial before he can confirm that he will be part of his legal team. He adds that a different lawyer is currently handling Modack’s other cases and that only people on a pre-approved list could contact him. Van der Merwe is not on this list.
He added that Modack was not trial-ready, as he was struggling with telephonic consultations with lawyers. However, Judge Erasmus questioned this, stating that Modack spoke to a lawyer regularly, according to the Department of Correctional Services.
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Judge Erasmus gave Modack some time to sort out the issue of his legal representation, as his next court date is 11 August (for the Kinnear matter). He added that this would give him more time to speak to the five people that he (Modack) had in mind to consult regarding his financial situation.
In response to this, Modack asked whether they could enter the prison as visitors. To this, Judge Erasmus stated that that decision was to be made by the Department of Correctional Services.
Judge Erasmus said he would permit some of the accused who are out on bail (and some of the attorneys) to appear via video chat platform Teams until Modack’s legal counsel was confirmed, despite his warnings that the longer the pre-trial appearances dragged on, the longer those in custody would remain in jail while awaiting trial, and the more money it would cost everyone else for legal representation and travel costs.
Prosecutor Bronwen Hendry-Sidaki says Modack is continuously providing different reasons for not going to trial. Modack reportedly told Erasmus that a new prison manager was appointed at Herderstroom prison, where he awaits trial, adding that any application apparently had to be made from scratch.
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Nafis Modack and associates to appear in Western Cape High Court
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