The trial of Taelo Dipholo, 29, Collen Sello, 27, and Mothusi Monama has been postponed to March 2 in the Johannesburg High Court.
While the matter was supposed to have begun on February 7, the delay was allegedly because of the Legal Aid lawyers’ failure to collect the case file on time.
The three suspects are accused of torturing and setting alight Jostina Sangweni on March 26 last year. She subsequently succumbed to her injuries on April 5 last year at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital burns unit.
Sello is accused of buying and pouring petrol on Sangweni, Dipholo is accused of setting her alight, while Monama, whose age is not specified, is accused of being the mastermind behind the woman’s murder.
Sangweni was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of her death. She had wandered away from the house of a traditional healer who had been entrusted with her care and healing in Mapetla, Soweto.
She was later found in a house in Malabane Street, Phiri, Soweto, where she had been tied up, savagely attacked, and then set alight while she was still alive.
The Sangweni family complained that they were not happy with the lawyers' “unprofessional attitude”. But they remain resolute in seeking justice for Sangweni, who died at the age of 59.
“This whole case is very difficult for us, and it is disruptive to our lives. We wish that our rights to receive a fair resolution of the matter would be taken into consideration,” said Sangweni’s son-in-law, Jabu Moagi.
Sunday Independent