DA murder trial to start
THE TRIAL of the five men accused of the kidnapping and murder of Danielskuil DA councillor, Johannes Baatjies, and a family friend, Jeffrey Nouse, is expected to get under way in the Northern Cape High Court today.
The five accused – Richard Hasane, Tshame Frank Baxane, Zonizelo Richard Magawu, Thompson Mncedisi Mphondomisa and Matthews Legodu – made a brief appearance in court yesterday.
They will be represented by legal representatives from Legal Aid South Africa and those appointed under the judicare legal aid programme.
The trial has been set down for the next nine weeks.
Northern Cape High Court Judge President Pule Tlaletsi advised that the court did not wish to waste any time in finalising the matter.
Baaitjies and Nouse were killed on the road between Postmasburg and Danielskuil in August 2016, a day before Baaitjies was to be sworn in as a councillor at Kgatelopele Municipality.
Baaitjies was kidnapped, forced into the boot of a car and shot multiple times in the head and body while he tried to escape from the moving vehicle.
Nouse was shot in the face with a 9mm pistol and was found seriously injured inside a Ford Ranger along the side of the road. He was taken to Kimberley’s Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital and died on August 23, 2016.