Africa-Press – South-Africa. The continuous postponements of the case involving the seven men accused of murdering Zimbabwean Elvis Nyathi is worrying, his family said on Thursday.
“The postponements are very worrying because they end up leading to the case losing its momentum. We thought that, since the world is watching, that it was going to put pressure on the magistrate to make a very serious decision,” Nyathi’s cousin, Mphathisi Ndlovu, told News24.
Ndlovu, who was speaking after the Randburg Magistrate’s Court postponed the matter to 24 August, said they were worried that those responsible for the murder may never be brought to book.
The prosecutor, Dinesh Nandkissor, told the court that witness statements, crime scene photos, and postmortem and mortuary results were still outstanding.
Nandkissor said the State was still waiting for the Director of Public Prosecution to decide whether the matter would be transferred to the Johannesburg High Court.
Cedric Raseala, 42, Baron Mashele, 31, Godfrey Mahlo, 31, Thomas Serebane, 53, Phumuduza Tshirangwana, 38, Thabo Makgatho, 32, and Puleng Chipape, 34, were each granted bail of R3 000 at their previous court appearance on 13 May.
Nyathi was killed in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, on 7 April 2022, allegedly by a group of attackers.
The seven men face charges of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and extortion.
Ndlovu said that, before Nyathi died, he had bought a stand in Zimbabwe to build a house for his family.
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“He died before doing that, but the people of Zimbabwe and South Africa managed to donate money to complete the house. At least, the children now have a shelter because they built a two-room house for them.”
He said Nyathi’s wife, who is back in Zimbabwe, was still grieving and they were in regular communication with her.
“Life has to move on. It is painful and something she will never forget, but she has to move on and stand up, and do something for the children to grow and go to school.
“She is worried that, because she didn’t come for the identification parade, it will end up with them getting away with it. But she was very scared coming back to South Africa because of the experience that she suffered.”
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