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MBABANE – The man who allegedly killed Hosea MP Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza’s right hand man, yesterday refused to be represented by a lawyer who has been provided by the State.
Bonginkhosi Magangeni Khumalo stands accused of killing Mthandeni Napthal Dlamini on August 23, 2020 by stabbing him in the neck. His case was expected to resume before Judge Bongani Dlamini yesterday.
It was when the matter was called that the accused, who is out on bail, stood up to inform the judge that he no longer wanted to be represented by the lawyer who had been provided by the State. He said his family had agreed to hire an attorney for him.
Warned
This resulted in the court postponing the matter to tomorrow and the judge warning the accused that whether he had a lawyer on that day or not, the matter would proceed.
The judge said he suspected that by so doing, the accused was trying to delay the trial from resuming.
The State provides and pays lawyers for accused persons, who are facing murder charges.
In the summary of evidence, one of the witnesses is expected to inform the court that he was at the homestead of MP Mabuza when the incident occurred as he worked there.
He will narrate to the court that around 8:45am, he was going about his work.
He will submit that as usual, he had a conversation with the accused, who allegedly informed him that he had not been paid well for the plumbing services he had rendered at the Mabuza homestead due to the deceased who allegedly influenced the MP not to pay him in full.
The witness will state that as they were still on about that conversation, the deceased arrived at the Mabuza homestead.
In his statement, the witness highlighted