Chaos as rape and murder accused spoils for fight with court officials

A MAN charged with raping his pregnant ex-girlfriend after beating her new boyfriend to death with an iron rod, pushed up his sleeves, primed for a fight, and dared police to try to force him into the dock yesterday.

The well-built 30-year-old’s flagrant refusal to appear in the Port Elizabeth High Court prompted Judge Irma Schoeman to issue a warrant for his arrest and set a trial date in his absence.

It is alleged that the man broke into his former girlfriend’s Motherwell home in November and, after beating her boyfriend to death, kidnapped and raped her.

This, even after another woman tried to intervene by pouring a pot of boiling water over his head.

The Zimbabwean national, who cannot be named until he pleads to the rape counts, lived in Motherwell at the time of the murder.

He is serving a 12-year sentence at St Albans Prison following his conviction in July for an unrelated robbery and assault.

Yesterday, as the van which had transported him from the prison stopped outside the high court, the man refused to get out and pushed up his sleeves, threatening court officials and police with a fight should they try to force him into the dock.

About an hour later, after state advocate Jason Thysse called for back-up, the man sent an arrogant message to Schoeman that he would appear after he had finished his cigarette.

He then left the van, but this time refused to climb the staircase leading to the dock before his further demands were met.

He shouted from the bottom of the stairway that he wanted the courtroom gallery cleared before he would consider showing his face.

He also complained that members of the media were present and that lies had been written about him in the newspaper in the past.

But the now fed-up judge refused to hold the matter in-camera without a formal application and a valid reason to do so.

Schoeman, instead, issued a warrant for his arrest and informed the man through a Zimbabwean interpreter that his trial would proceed on October 10.

The interpreter ran up and down, carrying the messages between the judge and the accused.

“I note the trial date but I will not appear if the conditions remain the same,” the man yelled.

Schoeman said it was in his best interest to appear in court.

The man faces charges of housebreaking with intent to rob, murder, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and two counts of rape.

It is alleged that, armed with a knife and an iron rod, he kicked down the door of his ex-girlfriend’s home in NU9, Motherwell, at 11pm on November 17, before brutally assaulting her and her boyfriend.

They had been sleeping at the time.

While he was allegedly beating the woman’s boyfriend with an iron rod, another woman who lived in the house threw a pot of scalding water at him. He then allegedly stabbed the woman.

The boyfriend was beaten so badly that he died from his injuries the next day.

The accused then dragged his ex-girlfriend from her house to a house in NU1, where he locked her up and allegedly raped her on two occasions.

She was eventually rescued the following day.

The trial is set down for October 10 to October 27.