Cape Judge President John Hlophe on Monday acceded to a defence proposal to postpone Parliament’s Travelgate trial.
Hlophe postponed the case to October 17.
Twenty-eight people — 23 current and former MPs and five travel agents — are in the dock for the alleged defrauding of Parliament of about R24-million.
It was announced earlier on Monday that John Hlophe would preside over the trial that got under way on Monday in the Cape High Court.
The initial indictment applied to 30 accused, but Shamima Limalia, who consulted for two of the agencies, entered into a plea bargain with the state and is now on its list of witnesses.
Hlophe is facing a Judicial Service Commission inquiry into allegations of graft and returned to the bench a week ago from a self-imposed two-month break.
At court a trickle of MPs were seen making their way into court on a cold and blustery winter morning. Among those seen were former DA MP Antoinette Versfeld and the ANC’s Bruce Kannemeyer and Randy Pieterse.
Lead investigator from the NPA, advocate Jannie van Vuuren, when asked if it was all systems go, said ”Ja, I suppose so.” — Sapa