Durban - Having presented a substantial portion of its case in a high-profile murder trial for nearly a month where the accused allegedly had links to Isis , the State will be forced to start the matter afresh later this month.
The waste of resources, which includes the testimony of 17 State witnesses, occurred when Judge Sharmane Balton decided to recuse herself on Tuesday from the State versus Del Vecchio and two others hearing in the Durban High Court.
This, after it was brought to Balton’s attention that she also handled a preservation application that involved two of the accused the previous week. Bibi Fatima Patel, 31, her husband Sayefudeen Aslam Del Vecchio, 42, who has a home in Eshowe and Malawian national Mussa Ahmad Jackson, 35, have been accused of murdering wellknown horticulturist Rod Saunders, 74, and his 63-year-old microbiologist wife Rachel in February 2018.
Natasha Kara-Ramkisson, the NPA’s KZN spokesperson said: “The accused were remanded in custody as their bail was previously refused and the matter was adjourned to October 25 for the allocation of a new trial judge.” The botanists, British citizens living in Cape Town, were on a road trip to film a documentary in the Free State.
En route they camped at Bivane Dam in Vryheid, northern KwaZulu-Natal, but ventured to the Ngoye Forest near Eshowe. They were kidnapped, beaten to death, their bodies placed in sleeping bags and dumped into the Tugela River. The charges the accused faced included kidnapping, murder and robbery.
Del Vecchio was also charged with malicious damage to property after he allegedly set alight cane fields belonging to Tongaat Hulett in 2017, near the Sibaya Casino, resulting in damages of nearly R2.4 million. The charges in both matters have since been consolidated and all three have pleaded not guilty. Their trial began in May. Senior State Advocate Mahen Naidu presented testimony from 15 witnesses at that time.
The preservation application against Del Vecchio and his wife was made by the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU), which was granted in Judge Balton’s chambers on September 30. The AFU’s application was made according to Section 38 (1) of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, which is aimed at seizing assets of persons who are deemed to have accrued benefits from criminal activity.
Judge Balton’s order enabled the AFU to seize various items listed in their application, including nearly R40 000 in cash, paintball guns and projectiles, a Beretta pistol, two-way radios, a drone and a tent. On Monday the criminal trial resumed before Judge Balton and Naidu called two medical doctors who testified about post mortems that were conducted.
Minutes before proceedings could begin on Tuesday, the couple got served with a copy of the AFU’s preservation order by the sheriff. It caught the attention of the accused’s and State’s legal teams that Judge Balton had granted the order. After a brief exchange with all the legal representatives in her chambers, Judge Balton addressed the court and said she was unable to proceed, recused herself and asked that another judge restart the matter.
The Sunday Tribune sent a list of questions to the judiciary to gauge their views on the waste of state resources, why they appointed Judge Balton to handle the preservation matter, why she accepted the appointment, why she continued to preside over the criminal matter when it resumed on Monday, and the fate of the Del Vecchio case.
The judiciary did not respond. In support of the AFU’S preservation application, which was heard with only the applicants present, Kenneth Samuel, the NPA’s deputy director of public prosecutions, submitted an affidavit. Samuel also made reference to submissions made by various witnesses, including investigators, in the criminal matter.
On February 12, 2018, the SAPS received an alert that the pair might have been kidnapped, which was confirmed a day later. Police kept any eye on their banking transactions, while tracking the movements of the accused. They were arrested on February 15 and various items were seized, including R39 200 in cash in Patel’s handbag.
Both Patel and her husband were unemployed at the time. Investigators submitted that Del Vecchio and his wife had allegedly taken control of the deceased’s seven bank accounts and effected various transfers, cash withdrawals and purchases by posing as the Saunders.
More than R400 000 was channelled into a particular account held by Rachel from the couple’s other bank accounts. Eight cash withdrawals totalling R35 000 and 25 point of sale purchases totalling nearly R210 000 were made from the same account.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE