Body parts murder accused awaits decision on mental evaluation application

Hlabangwane also abandoned by his lawyer after he failed to pay

30 November 2021 - 11:29
By Tankiso Makhetha
Murder accused Flavio Hlabangwane.
Image: Belinda Pheto Murder accused Flavio Hlabangwane.

The actuarial science graduate accused of murder will have to wait until Friday to have his application for a mental evaluation submitted after he failed to pay his lawyer.

Flavio Hlabangwane, 26, appeared briefly in the Protea magistrate's court on Tuesday on a charge of murder after body parts were found in his fridge in Protea Glen, Soweto, on November 13.

His lawyer, Gift Mncube, told the court that he would not be able to proceed with the matter as he had not received financial instructions.

“There is a slight predicament accused’s family indicated to me that they currently do not have funds. They asked for a bit of time to gather the funds required for the matter to proceed. By Friday I’ll have the financial instructions to proceed,” said Mncube.

Magistrate David Mhango postponed the matter for December 3 for Hlabangwane and Mcube to iron out their financial hurdle.

Previously, Hlabangwane’s matter was postponed after it emerged that he attempted to kill himself in the morning before his appearance.

The news about his attempted suicide came out during his second appearance.

Mncube previously told the court that he would be submitting an application for client on his next appearance to undergo mental evaluation.