Lawyer representing accused number three in the Limpopo pig farm case withdraws

Attorney Chanel Brown, who was representing William Musora, said her withdrawal was due to the of payments.

"I would like to inform the court that I would be withdrawing as a legal representative for accused number three due to the lack of financial instructions,” she said on Wednesday.

Musora appeared before the Polokwane Regional Court alongside co-accused Zachariah Olivier and Rudolph De Wet.

The trio is accused of killing two women and feeding their bodies to pigs.

The legal representative for accused number two, Muhammad Valjee, offered to represent Musora pro bono.

 "My office is undertaking to assist him, pro bono, if you so wish, Your Worship. We discussed this with him and the interpreter present, and he seemed to have agreed. I'm not sure if there's a change in his instruction,  if he would so wish to proceed with Legal Aid."

Earlier in the court proceedings, the attorneys representing the accused asked the court to bar the media from broadcasting their clients' faces, claiming they had received death threats.

However, state prosecutor Advocate Lethabo Mashiane argued that the rights of the accused were limited in terms of Section 36 of the Constitution.

Magistrate Ntilane Felleng subsequently granted the media the right to broadcast the case.

"The court, having heard the submissions by both parties, and there's one aspect that has been raised by the state advocate Mashiane, that if the defence is saying that this proceeding should not be broadcast,  it will defeat the purpose of this proceedings because these proceedings are not held in-camera.

"Already the members of the public are fully in court, and other members of the public are outside as in court and further, the issue that has been raised by the defence in respect of the threats and intimidation,  as correctly pointed out by Advocate Mashiane, can be dealt with remedially in custody with the authorities where the accused are kept.

"The accused persons are legally represented by a well-trained legal representative, experienced legal representative, who knows the processes to follow in circumstances where their clients are being intimidated or subjected to any threat.

"In the circumstances, it is therefore not going to be in the interest of the public to refuse the application by the media house to broadcast these proceedings.”

Felleng warned that the application was granted with certain conditions.

"The video and the photograph of the presiding officer shall not be taken.  The voice or the audio of the presiding officer may be recorded. Finally, this application shall stand until the finality of this bail application in this court."

The trio is expected to return back to the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court pending an appeal outcome next month.

"The appeal will determine whether the accused will get their statement for the purpose of the bail application. The case has been postponed for further investigations," said Felleng.

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