Zinde erupts with profanity after trial’s postponement
MURDER accused Mark Zinde shouted profanities following the postponement of his trial at the high court in Pretoria yesterday.
Zinde is on trial for the murder of his mother, SABC board member and journalist Hope Zinde.
“F***ing funny, you f***heads. Where is that b***h?” the 23-year-old shouted, moments after his case was postponed.
This was after his legal representative, Francois Joubert, informed the court that it intended to submit a formal application to have Zinde readmitted to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital for observation.
Advocate André Wilsenach, for the State, said that according to the indictment, Zinde faced four charges: murder, possession of illicit substances, attempted murder and assault. Count three (attempted murder) and four (assault) – were added yesterday after Zinde was arrested for allegedly assaulting and trying to kill his father.
“Count one and two fall within the district of Brits, while count three and four fall in the district of Vereeniging before they were centralised, prior to his (court) appearance. There has not been a referral for counts three and four for observation,” Wilsenach told the court.
He said Zinde’s counsel had informed him that they would be submitting a formal application for mental observation (for count three and four) on Thursday.
Joubert told reporters after the postponement that his client was not well. “He’s not mentally well. He is a sick person, he’s a sick man. It’s difficult to explain. I’m a layman when it comes to psychology and I can’t explain,” he said.
Explaining the reasons behind the submission to have Zinde evaluated, Joubert said: “That report was compiled over a year ago. New circumstances occurred in the meantime and new charges were added.”
Explaining that the State had added charges against Zinde, including attempted murder after he attacked his father, Dr Lesley Manoto, while out on bail, Joubert said: “The State alleges he attempted to murder his father after attacking him while out on bail, a little after the report was compiled by Weskoppies.”
Joubert alleged that after being arrested in November, Zinde was assessed by a private psychiatrist who rejected the initial reports that were compiled by a team of doctors at Weskoppies.
“We think there’s enough grounds (to refer him to a psychiatric ward), we’ve got our own psychiatrist – Dr John Weinkove – who said Zinde needed to be referred back to Weskoppies for an assessment.
“I think it’s important to find out what his mental state is,” Weinkove said.
“The conclusion is that my client suffers from schizophrenia,” he said.
Zinde was assessed in November during his incarceration in Vereeniging, and this year while at Johannesburg Central Prison.