Further delays in 12-year-old�s assault case
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Wednesday January 25, 2017 16:48
Ditiro Jerry fell into a coma last June after Mohammed Hussein Molla allegedly brutally assaulted him for playing with his [Molla’s] child in Mogoditshane. The case made headlines, as the boy fought for his life in local and South African hospitals, spending most of the time on life support.
Jerry is now with his parents, but on assisted breathing, through a tube. He was discharged in December 2016.
Broadhurst magistrate Faith Ngandu yesterday extended Molla’s remand saying the court could not proceed to hear an update from the medical doctor from Princess Marina Hospital (PMH) on the condition of the boy due to the absence of the court reporter. She said that the rules do not allow for the court to proceed with cases with a recorder.
“I had to call both the prosecutor and the defence counsel to tell them about the absence of the court reporter, but unfortunately the defence counsel was also not present. I can’t do anything without the reporter. Quorum is not formed in the absence of the reporter.
I had to release the doctor. I couldn’t keep the doctor here while he could be saving lives out there,” Ngandu said.
However, the accused suggested that the court should wait for his lawyer as he said he was on his way to court. He said that the court could not make a ruling in his absence (defence lawyer) as the dates may not be suitable for him to be present in court.
“I am staying in prison so I don’t know if the dates you set would be suitable for him,” Molla said.
In response, magistrate Ngandu explained that the court could not wait for the defence counsel, whom she said is familiar with the proceedings of the court and understands that he should be in court on time and wait for the court to start.
Molla is facing one count of grievous bodily harm for critically injuring Jerry and landing him in Intensive Care Unit for months with breathing complications following an assault on June 13, 2016. The accused has been in custody since he was arrested in July 2016 as the court waits for the boy’s condition to improve. Jerry, meanwhile, has been in and out of hospitals in Botswana and South Africa.
The case continues on February 6, 2017 when the PMH medical doctor will update the court on the condition of the victim.