Rude awakening for attorney

A CAPE Town attorney, who was instructed to launch a bail application, was astonished to find that the accused had been convicted and that sentencing was set down for the same day. As prosecutor Barry van der Berg and legal aid advocate Xolisile Ndinisa were preparing in the Parow Regional Court on Wednesday for convicted armed robber Luvo Buswana’s case, a privately funded attorney called. He said the Buswana family had ended Ndinisa’s mandate and his instructions were to launch a bail application. The prosecutor informed the attorney that they were about to start sentencing proceedings. The attorney told the court: “I just got a very rude awakening.” He said his information was that Buswana was making his first court appearance and wanted bail. He added: “I have never been placed in this position – I don’t even know what the charges are.” The accused was jailed for 15 years for the aggravated armed robbery of two metro police officers. – ANA