Durban — Following the June court appearance of a 28-year-old father charged with the murder of his son, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had not yet made a decision on where his trial would be heard.
This emerged on Thursday in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court where Siyabonga Innocent Shezi appeared via the Audio Visual Recording system (AVR) from Westville Prison.
Shezi, who abandoned his bail bid, is alleged to have assaulted his 8-year-old son, Sfundo Sibisi, in January in the Shongweni area, where he died.
He is also charged with the assault of the mother of his son, Nonhlanhla Sibisi.
Here it is alleged that in December last year, while assaulting Sibisi, he threatened to kill her and their son.
When Shezi last appeared in court on June 30, the State indicated the crime scene photo album was outstanding from investigations and that it expected it to be collected on July 3.
Since the matter had been marked final for adjournments for purposes of further investigation, the State adjourned it for a decision from the DPP. However, on Thursday the State again asked that the matter be adjourned to August 8 for a decision from the DPP.
Magistrate Wendalynn Robinson, in granting the adjournment, said that she was marking the matter final for adjournment for the DPP’s decision.
“The DPP’s office is to give a decision as to whether or not investigations have been finalised and whether the matter is to proceed in the regional court or the high court,” said the magistrate.
In court in March it emerged that Shezi had tendered a confession and had done a pointing-out and that the DPP was to deal with the matter.
In June, the DPP indicated that Shezi was to be examined to ascertain his state of mind and he was taken to RK Khan Hospital for such.
He was found to be coherent and logical and was sent to directly stand trial.
Sfundo would have turned 9 in April and he would have be in Grade 3 at Umthala Primary School in KwaNdengezi.
According to the child’s mother, who had previously spoken to the Daily News outside court, she and Shezi had broken up for some time before the murder.
She said she had been at work on the day her son was killed.
Shezi allegedly phoned her telling her that he had murdered their child.
Shezi allegedly told Sibisi to go and look for their son in the bushes in Shongweni before his body was fed on by animals.
That was when Sibisi phoned her family in Shongweni Dam asking them to go to the area “where they found my boy’s lifeless body”, she said.
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Daily News