The case against a man accused of raping 70 women between 1994 and 2004 could not proceed in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday afternoon as expected.
Presiding Judge George Maluleke postponed the matter to Tuesday, saying he needed two assessors to be present during court proceedings.
”There is no purpose in taking pleas in the absence of assessors but I am hopeful that by tomorrow morning both of them would be available.”
Mongezi Samuel Jinxela (38) will only plead to the 261 charges against him once state advocate Louisa Loots reads them to him on Tuesday morning.
Afterwards, Loots is expected to call her first witness to the stand.
The witness, like many others after her, is expected to give a detailed account of how Jinxela lured her to a secluded area after promising her a job.
Jinxela apparently lured his unsuspecting victims by saying his employer had a vacancy.
But once he won their trust, he would lead them to bushes, mine dumps and deserted fields where he allegedly threatened and raped them.
He is alleged to have then robbed them of their possessions, including jewellery, cellphones, handbags and money.
Other charges against him are robbery, indecent assault, assault, kidnapping and one charge of escaping from police custody.
Before the matter could be postponed, Jinxela made a few requests through his lawyer, advocate Harold Knott. ”He requests a single cell in order to facilitate preparations for his trial because a communal holding cell of 83 people is very disruptive, making it impossible for him to concentrate.”
He also told the court that prison officials were denying Jinxela his right to receive medication for a problem eardrum.
”He is having problems with his one eardrum and officers at the Johannesburg central prison refuse to pass on his medication from his family members,” said Knott.
To resolve the matter, Maluleke ruled that Jinxela be taken to a prison hospital, and that a letter should be written to Department of Correctional Services officers requesting a single cell. — Sapa