Mark Warona Zinde's family yesterday expressed frustration over the way the state was handling his legal battles.
Police arrested the 23-year-old on June 11, after they found the lifeless body of his media personality mother Hope Zinde in the boot of her SUV. She was a former broadcast journalist.
Zinde was charged for allegedly killing his 50-year-old mother with a heavy blunt object at their Hartbeespoort, North West, home.
He is also facing charges relating to the alleged assault of his father, Dr Lebohang Mohale Manoto, at his De Deur, south of Johannesburg, home on November 6.
Manoto had accommodated him after he was granted R10000 bail in the murder case. An unprovoked Zinde allegedly attacked him while he was reading a newspaper.
This resulted in Brits Magistrate's Court, where he is facing the murder case, cancelling his bail in December.
At the cancellation hearing, Magistrate Moses Maswanganyi postponed the case to yesterday. But it was not heard, as Correctional Services officials brought Zinde to the court at lunch time.
He was transferred from Vereeniging, where he is being prosecuted for the assault case.
Zinde cut a sad figure in the dock, and faced downwards the entire time.
Magistrate Lourens Matthiah accepted the request by the prosecutor, Hanna Conradie, to postpone the matter to today.
Speaking to Sowetan soon after the postponement, Zinde's uncle Ndima Zinde spoke of the family's frustration over how the two cases were proceeding. "I don't think it's what we would have liked to see happening.
"Not only about today [but] on a number of occasions things have not been going the way we thought they would go.
"Every time there are excuses. It's one postponement after another without valid reasons.
"Look, you're aware that he's in Vereeniging. Police were supposed to go and fetch him yesterday. They only went to fetch him this morning and that is why our legal person was not here. That is why we didn't proceed with the matter."
Ndima said the family was worried that the postponements were delaying Zinde's admission to a psychiatric facility for evaluation.
Zinde's lawyer, Francois Joubert, previously indicated he would apply to have the state's report that found he was fit to stand trial set aside.
Hearing of this application was expected to commence yesterday. It could result in Zinde being re-admitted to the Weskoppies psychiatric hospital and evaluated again.
Said Ndima: "We believe that the sooner he gets proper medical attention the better.
"We don't know what the outcome of the medical examination will be. But the sooner we get to trial understanding whether he's well or not, the better for everyone.
"With the uncertainty as to whether he's mentally well or not, [his] coping mechanism - if he's not mentally well - would be different from someone who is mentally well.
"But that we cannot say with absolute surety until examination is done as we'd like it to."
nkosib@sowetan.co.za
Hope Zinde's family slams delays in son's cases
Mark Warona Zinde's family yesterday expressed frustration over the way the state was handling his legal battles.
Police arrested the 23-year-old on June 11, after they found the lifeless body of his media personality mother Hope Zinde in the boot of her SUV. She was a former broadcast journalist.
Zinde was charged for allegedly killing his 50-year-old mother with a heavy blunt object at their Hartbeespoort, North West, home.
He is also facing charges relating to the alleged assault of his father, Dr Lebohang Mohale Manoto, at his De Deur, south of Johannesburg, home on November 6.
Manoto had accommodated him after he was granted R10000 bail in the murder case. An unprovoked Zinde allegedly attacked him while he was reading a newspaper.
This resulted in Brits Magistrate's Court, where he is facing the murder case, cancelling his bail in December.
At the cancellation hearing, Magistrate Moses Maswanganyi postponed the case to yesterday. But it was not heard, as Correctional Services officials brought Zinde to the court at lunch time.
He was transferred from Vereeniging, where he is being prosecuted for the assault case.
Zinde cut a sad figure in the dock, and faced downwards the entire time.
Magistrate Lourens Matthiah accepted the request by the prosecutor, Hanna Conradie, to postpone the matter to today.
Speaking to Sowetan soon after the postponement, Zinde's uncle Ndima Zinde spoke of the family's frustration over how the two cases were proceeding. "I don't think it's what we would have liked to see happening.
"Not only about today [but] on a number of occasions things have not been going the way we thought they would go.
"Every time there are excuses. It's one postponement after another without valid reasons.
"Look, you're aware that he's in Vereeniging. Police were supposed to go and fetch him yesterday. They only went to fetch him this morning and that is why our legal person was not here. That is why we didn't proceed with the matter."
Ndima said the family was worried that the postponements were delaying Zinde's admission to a psychiatric facility for evaluation.
Zinde's lawyer, Francois Joubert, previously indicated he would apply to have the state's report that found he was fit to stand trial set aside.
Hearing of this application was expected to commence yesterday. It could result in Zinde being re-admitted to the Weskoppies psychiatric hospital and evaluated again.
Said Ndima: "We believe that the sooner he gets proper medical attention the better.
"We don't know what the outcome of the medical examination will be. But the sooner we get to trial understanding whether he's well or not, the better for everyone.
"With the uncertainty as to whether he's mentally well or not, [his] coping mechanism - if he's not mentally well - would be different from someone who is mentally well.
"But that we cannot say with absolute surety until examination is done as we'd like it to."
nkosib@sowetan.co.za
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