Court rejects request for watching brief by Kelly Khumalo lawyer
The High Court in Pretoria has rejected an application by Kelly Khumalo’s legal counsel to be readmitted as a watching brief in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial.
The application, which has been dated 1 November 2022, was read out in court on Monday.
Earlier this year the court ruled that Advocate Magdelene Moonsamy could not be physically present in the court room during the high-profile trial.
State prosecutor Advocate George Baloyi told the court that Moonsamy is requesting more than what a watching brief is entitled to.
“The role of the watching brief is to sit in the public gallery. A watching brief can only be seen and not be heard. The watching brief represents a victim of crime and that when the witness testifies and that is when the watching brief will be heard. What our colleague is asking for is more than what a watching brief is entitled to.”
In her application, Moonsamy requested that the court also furnish her with the transcripts from the trial. She also wants to be furnished with the transcripts from the bail application of accused number two Bongani Ntanzi.
ALSO READ: Honorary degrees ‘carried no weight’ - Joburg moves to defend JRA CEO qualifications
Her request was unanimously rejected by both the state and the defence.
“We make the submission, my lord, that since the time when the court made this ruling until now nothing has changed my lord that will make this court revisit the matter,” said Baloyi.
Meanwhile, Advocate Zandile Mshololo, who represents accused numbers one to four, argued that Moonsamy is not entitled to any of the transcripts she had requested.
“The further particulars that have been requested by the legal representative of Kelly Khumalo; she’s not entitled to them. It’s only an accused person who has been charged and is entitled to further particulars. She cannot demand them, and she’s not entitled to them because they will compromise the trial."
