The Alexander magistrate's court postponed the centralisation of seven dockets involving Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and co-accused, as he is yet to appear for his bail application for attempted murder of his then girlfriend Tebogo Thobejane.
Matlala and four others, including his wife Tsakane Matlala, made a brief appearance in court on Tuesday.
The Matlala couple, Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and, according to the charge sheet, his daughter Nthabiseng Nzama, are facing multiple charges including conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder. The matter was postponed to October 7 for centralisation.
However, Matlala will appear on September 2 for his bail application on a charge of attempted murder in Thobejane 's case.
Prosecutor Elize Le Roux said the matter of centralisation would take about six weeks. “I'm ready to submit the centralisation application tomorrow (Wednesday). So, there's two legs to this application.
“Firstly, I have to approach the director of public prosecutions in Pretoria and ask for her blessing, and then after that, I will have to seek approval from the national office. I believe that six weeks could be a reasonable time,” said Le Roux.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the state will oppose bail ahead of the centralisation of the cases. “You'd recall that there are seven dockets from different jurisdictions. We have two from Pretoria, two from Sandton, two from Orlando.
“However, I can’t recall the seventh one, but it simply means that as a state, we have applied for those dockets to be heard in one jurisdiction. So, this means the prosecutor in the case must apply and get approval from the office of the national director of public prosecution to centralise such cases so that they are heard in one court, which is going to be the Gauteng high court division in Johannesburg,” said Mjonondwane.
Of the group, only his wife and the daughter are out on bail. The rest remain in custody.
Magistrate Syta Prinsloo postponed the matter to September 2 and said: “He will then remain in custody. No bail.”
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