Security was tight in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court where South Africa’s ”Houdini”, Annanias Mathe, made a brief appearance on Friday.
Nine police officers armed with R4 rifles escorted the limping Mathe inside the court.
His case was postponed to March 30 for further investigation. He faces at least 50 charges, including murder, attempted murder, hijacking, rape and armed robbery.
The Mozambican is believed to be connected to a criminal syndicate operating between South Africa and Mozambique.
State prosecutor Vivian Hawkins requested that the case be postponed for further investigation.
She told magistrate Canna Coetzee that as the accused had escaped, the case became more complex and bigger.
Coetzee granted the postponement and told Mathe to apply for legal aid.
An attorney who introduced himself as Moosa told the court that he had been approached by the Legal Aid Board to represent Mathe. Mathe accepted Moosa as his attorney.
In the dock, the shackled Mathe was in the company of a police officer who kept a close eye on him.
Mathe looked relaxed and even smiled when he spoke to investigating officer Captain Arnold Boonstra before the proceedings began.
The case attracted a lot of attention as court staff, including some cleaners who were dressed in green uniforms, took time off and attended the proceedings at court 16.
Some staff were heard gloating to the their colleagues that a high-profile case was in their courtroom.
”This is not just an ordinary case,” one interpreter told his colleague.
Mathe made headlines in November last year when he escaped from the Pretoria C-Max prison, the country’s most secure prison.
He was re-arrested in December.
Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour will on Tuesday brief Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Correctional Service and the National Council of Provinces Select Committee on Security and Constitutional affairs on an investigation into Mathe’s escape and recommendations for improving security. — Sapa