Police on Tuesday were still searching for William Nkuna on what was to have been the second day of his trial for the murder of missing police Constable Francis Rasuge.
”The court postponed proceedings for tomorrow [Wednesday] with the hopes that by then Mr Nkuna will have been found and arrested,” said Senior Superintendent Pieter du Plessis, of the North West police.
A warrant of arrest was issued for Nkuna on Monday after he failed to arrive at the Mmabatho Circuit Court sitting in Ga-Rankuwa.
Nkuna sent a relative in his stead to read out a letter stating a medical doctor had recommended he be admitted to an institution for treatment of post-traumatic stress. The relative told the court Nkuna had been admitted to such an institution, the name of which was not supplied.
Du Plessis said the state doubted the authenticity of the letter and asked for a warrant to be issued for Nkuna’s arrest, which the court granted.
The Sowetan newspaper on Tuesday reported that as the warrant was being issued, Nkuna was being interviewed on Radio 702 claiming that he missed Rasuge and could not be sure if she was alive.
Nkuna had been out on warning since his last appearance at the court on May 23 this year.
Nkuna and Phineas Kutumela, a traditional healer, were arrested in August last year after Rasuge, who was reportedly Nkuna’s girlfriend at the time, went missing.
Rasuge went missing in August and was last seen alive in the company of Nkuna at a hairdressing salon in Themba.
Although her body has not been found, police presume her dead.
Nkuna and Kutumela appeared in the Moretele Magistrate’s Court in Themba several times, charged with her kidnapping.
They were also kept in custody for almost seven months.
Earlier this year, the court struck the case from the roll when the state wanted another postponement.
Soon after his release, Nkuna was again arrested, this time for alleged vehicle fraud committed in March last year.
He appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on March 23 this year and was released on bail of R5 000 in the fraud case.
Two days later, on March 25, he was again arrested after a warrant was issued against him for Rasuge’s murder.
This warrant of arrest was declared null and void in the Moretele Magistrate’s Court, and Nkuna was released on warning. — Sapa