The three Radzuma siblings accused of series of murders, including that of two South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) leaders, have expressed concern about delays in their trial at the Thohoyandou High Court in Limpopo.
The murder trial against Percy, Simon and Ndivhuwo Radzuma, has been postponed to Thursday due to the unavailability of their lawyers. Percy and Simon allegedly shot and killed two SAMWU leaders in two separate incidents in Thohoyandou, three years years ago.
The murder trial against the Radzuma siblings continues to be delayed, this time due to the unavailability of lawyers to represent them. The court has again postponed the matter to Thursday this week, for allocation of lawyers by Legal Aid South Africa.
The court also ordered that the legal body must confirm in writing if there are lawyers allocated to the matter. The state prosecutor told the court that advocate Mpho Makhuvha and Herman and Moosa Attorneys have been appointed to represent the accused. The matter was then adjourned for an hour to wait for the lawyers. But, the lawyers didn’t pitch.
After their lawyers failed to arrive in court, one of the accused, Simon Radzuma, made an application to conduct his own defense to fast-track proceedings. In response, Judge Legodi Phatudi said they are facing serious charges and must be provided with lawyers. Last month, the court heard that private and Legal Aid board lawyers are not keen to represent the accused citing safety concerns.
The accused allegedly shot and killed SAMWU leaders in the Vhembe district municipality, Timson Musetsho and Ronald Mani. Musetsho and Mani were against the district municipality investing R300 million in the now defunct VBS mutual bank.
The third sibling, Ndivhuwo will be prosecuted for another separate murder which relates to the killing of a person of interest in the SAMWU leaders’ murder case. The three siblings face more than 20 charges including six of murder, kidnapping, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. They have been remanded in custody.
