Mgidi murder: case postponed for the last time

MOKOPANE - The three suspects in the Charles Mgidi murder case appeared in the Mokopane Magistrate Court on Tuesday only to have the case postponed to 19 August for further investigation and the formulation of the indictment.

Charles Mgidi, owner of a driving school in Mahwelereng, died shortly after he was shot at a filling station in town earlier this year. Desmond Machaba, Samuel Matjila and Patric Sekhu were arrested and face trial after their bail application was denied and the appeal thereof dismissed.

Magistrate André van der Kooi said that the murder case needs to be expedited after the state suggested the case to be postponed for three months. The state prosecutor cited that one of the accused is still to appear in court for another murder case - that of the late Gideon Fatana who was shot and killed at his home in Mokopane earlier this year.

The suspects’ defense attorney argued that the case is overdue, Van der Kooi agreed and an earlier date was given.

The Mogalakwena Residents Association (MRA) and concerned community members marched to the Magistrate Court where they handed over a memorandum of demands to the provincial commissioner of the police and the chief magistrate of the Mokopane Magistrate Court. The memorandum requests that evidence must not being compromised in any way and for a maximum sentence to be considered.