In another twist in the Pretoria High Court drama of seven alleged Pakistani illegal immigrants, Judge Dion Basson recused himself on Thursday from presiding in the case.
”Due to the commotion in court yesterday [Wednesday] and certain remarks made in chambers, afterwards I recuse myself,” Basson said during a brief sitting on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the judge had to raise his voice when the counsel for the seven men, Zehir Omar, told the judge that he could not hear him because of an ear infection.
Basson then stood down the case, saying that Omar should arrange microphones as he was not prepared to scream in court.
Later, after he met the legal teams in chambers, he postponed the case to Thursday.
On Thursday, Basson said the incidents could create a ”perception of prejudice” on his part and after consulting with the deputy judge president he decided to recuse himself from the case.
In the meantime, Muhammed Khan, Javid Ahmed, Tariq Mahmood, Toqeer Tariq, Asmat Nwaaz, Dharam Singh and Rashid Saleem would have to spend another night in custody waiting for their case to be heard on Friday. They have been in custody since Sunday and were not brought before court within 48 hours as required by law.
The men were arrested outside the court on Sunday after they attended another court case about Khalid Mahmood Rashid, who disappeared last year when he was deported to Pakistan.
The Department of Home Affairs claims the seven are in South Africa illegally and that they must be deported to Pakistan. Omar, who appears on behalf of the men, claims they have ”proper documentation” to be in South Africa.
Judge Eberhardt Bertelsmann will hear their case on Friday. — Sapa