The High Court in Pretoria has ordered that a suspect in the murder trial of former Bafana Bafana footballer Senzo Meyiwa be moved from solitary confinement.
Accused Mthobisi Mncube’s legal team had argued for his release, which was granted on Tuesday.
This as the same request from another suspected, Fisokuhle Ntuli, who has been struck off the roll “for lack of urgency”.
The court was concerned at Mncube’s claim to have suffered a mental breakdown because of the conditions he was being held in, and the defence’s inability to adequately address the complaint.
It said, unless under exceptional circumstances or directed by a court, awaiting trial prisoners should not be held for longer than 18 month in Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre.
“The first applicant has, in my view, been unlawfully detained beyond the 18 month period.”
“If he continues to be detained in these circumstances, not only will his mental health be at risk but his further incarceration will be unlawful”.
WATCH: Judgement passed down
‘Unbearable’ and ‘overwhelming’
Advocate Charles Mnisi previously told the court Mncube was allowed only one hour outside his cell at the correctional centre.
He said this made it hard to speak with his client.
Mncube said, in an urgent application to the court, that the confinement had become “unbearable”
“I am unable to concentrate and severely stressed. I have feelings of fear and hopelessness and, at times, I am unable to distinguish day from night.”
Ntuli said the mere thought of remaining segregated caused him to panic.
He said he was unable to sleep with the cries of tortured inmates nearby.
Correctional Services disputed this, saying the pair had never been placed in solitary confinement and the prison where they were held only had single cells.
The defence disputed the urgency of the application, arguing that the pair had been detained in prison for four years.
Five men on trial for Senzo Meyiwa’s murder
Meyiwa was shot and killed while visiting Khumalo at her mother’s residence in Vosloorus, Gauteng, on 26 October 2014.
Mncube, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, Mthokoziseni Maphisa, and Fisokuhle Ntuli are on trial for Meyiwa’s murder.
They face charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of an unlicenced firearm, and possession of ammunition.
All five men have pleaded not guilty.
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