/ 15 November 2007

Dissent causes chaos at Kapdi drug trial

The Nazier Kapdi drug case in the Wynberg Regional Court in Cape Town deteriorated into acrimonious exchanges on Thursday, with a defence lawyer saying the trial was ”disgustingly unfair”.

The chaos erupted over a technicality involving documents that prosecutor Greg Wolmarans should have handed to the defence team, but did not.

Wolmarans had called to the witness stand the commander of the Western Cape forensic laboratory, Senior Superintendent Jaco Westraat, to confirm to the court that he had given a police trap 2kg of the drug tik, on instruction from the Western Cape directorate for public prosecutions.

Before the court are Kapdi and four co-accused charged with three counts of dealing in tik and one of supplying the trap with ephedrine, the main ingredient of tik.

When Wolmarans told the court he would also call to the witness stand a police forensic expert involved in the analysis of the tik in question, counsel Max Hodes — for Kapdi — said this was ”disgustingly unfair”, as the defence team had not been furnished with affidavits and statements relating to the testimony.

Magistrate Fransie Mouton said she would provisionally allow the evidence, which caused an angry outburst from Hodes. He said: ”This is a trial by ambush. Throughout the case everything has been unfair. I object even to the evidence being provisionally allowed.”

Hodes said he was ”disgusted” with Wolmarans’s behaviour, and added: ”He can report me to the Bar council.”

In another angry outburst, Hodes said Wolmarans should withdraw from the case, so that a ”normal and decent” prosecutor could replace him. This prompted the magistrate to warn that personal attacks in open court had to stop.

Wolmarans responded: ”I take exception to the remarks, but I will ignore them.”

He said it was not a trial by ambush and that the witnesses he intended calling were for the sake of thoroughness.

Mouton said cooperation between the prosecution and the defence team was very low, and she felt it would negatively affect the administration of justice.

At one stage Hodes accused Mouton of ”leaning over to help the state”.

The case continues. — Sapa