Henning murder accused pleads for time

2012-05-15 13:41

Pretoria - Murder accused Ambrose Monye on Tuesday asked the Pretoria Magistrate's Court to grant him time to "fix" his financial problems and get his initial lawyers back before the case is moved to the High Court.

Earlier the bail application of Monye and Andre Gouws - two of the men accused of murdering Pretoria teaching assistant Chanelle Henning - was delayed, as Monye's lawyers did not arrive in court.

The towering former Nigerian Olympic athlete told the court he stood by his previous stance - he did not want a Legal Aid representative - and was going to use the lawyers who represented him initially. He said he had spoken to them on the phone earlier.

"I have sent my relatives to negotiate with the lawyers. When I spoke to them [the lawyers] this morning they said they were on their way [to court]."

Magistrate Maryke de la Rey then instructed prosecutor Andrea Johnson to "phone Mr Jay" (Monye's lawyer Peter Jay) and get clarity on the matter.

On her return Johnson told the court Jay told her he had not been paid and was not coming to represent Monye.

Monye then requested the court to postpone the case, giving him time to re-negotiate with the lawyers before the matter was transferred to the High Court. The matter was postponed to May 24.

In granting the extension, De la Rey cautioned Monye to "secure legal representation in the meantime, or else the indictment (notice of case transfer) will be served even without a lawyer".

Gouws, who had a lawyer, was served with the notice of transfer of his case to the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

He will appear in court on November 19.

Monye, Gouws and a third accused, Preshan Singh, last appeared in court together at the end of March.

Two other accused, Willem Pieterse and Gerhardus du Plessis, are already serving 18-year jail sentences for their roles in the murder.

Henning, 26, was killed in a drive-by shooting in November 2011 after dropping off her child at a nursery school in Faerie Glen, east of Pretoria.

- SAPA