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Cops 'laxity' stops trial again
15/04/2008 14:02 - (SA)
Pretoria - Alleged police "laxity" in probing charges of torture brought by an alleged triple killer and rapist has delayed a Pretoria High Court trial for a second time.
Acting Judge Chris Eksteen on Tuesday postponed the trial of Ephraim Mkhali, 23, and Vusi Maphai, 35, to Thursday.
They are accused of raping and strangling Mamelodi schoolgirls Tsholofelo Aphane, Lindiwe Mbonane and Lerato Ndinisa and robbing them of their cellphones while they were relaxing in a local park in April 2006.
The bodies of the three girls, all childhood friends who lived in the same street, were found dumped behind a shopping centre in Mamelodi West.
All had been strangled or smothered.
The State alleges that the two men forced the girls to lie down, tied their hands and feet and then raped and strangled them.
Police did 'nothing'
Counsel for Maphai, H J C van Rensburg, placed it on the record that the police had done nothing to investigate his client's claims that police had tortured and threatened him to provide certain information.
This despite a high court order, granted in November last year, that the complaint be investigated, an identity parade held and defence counsel kept informed of the investigation.
Van Rensburg said the investigation could have a direct bearing on the fairness of the trial.
He said repeated requests for information about the investigation were made to the National Police Commissioner's office and the senior superintendent appointed to probe the claims, but had yielded absolutely no results.
Judge Eksteen said he could not postpone the trial indefinitely, but the "laxity" of the police would first have to be addressed.
The trial would have to be postponed "from week to week" until the investigation had been completed, he added.
The Judge "politely requested" the State and the office of the National Police Commissioner to see to it that the senior superintendent and inspector appointed to investigate the complaint were present in court on Thursday to explain why nothing had apparently been done so far.
The two accused remain in custody.
- SAPA
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