Murder accused Tumelo Mogotsi, who is alleged to have brutally killed Oteng Magang over a cooler box in 2015 alongside co-accused Thabo Ntwayakgosi, has raised concerns about his pro deo counsel, accusing the lawyer of not acting in his best intertest as trial continues to stall.
It is alleged that both Mogotsi and Ntwayakgosi acted together back in 2015 and robbed Magang of his cooler box before fatally stabbing him with a sharp object just outside Dladleng Entertainment Centre.
Appearing before Judge Oteng Motlhala of the High Court this weeek, State prosecutor Mogotsi Ndlovu stated that both the State and defence were not able to file their heads of argument as per the court’s order.
“None of the parties have complied with filing the heads of argument and I tender my apologies for that,” Ndlovu said. With both the State and defence failing to file papers, State sought a postponement for the matter which was supported by defence counsel Leitshamo Phil for Mogotsi. While Claudina Rendo was in abstentia for her client Ntwayakgosi.
Hearing that, accused Mogotsi was not amused at all by the frequent delays in the matter. He accused even his own attorney for delaying the trial that dates back to as far as 2015.
“Case yee e nkgodisetsa mo toronkong ene ga ke itse sepe ka yone. Delay yee counsel a e dirang ga e ntshidise shapo,” Mogotsi said. Which loosely translates to, “I am getting old in prison because of this case that I don’t even know anything about it. The delay that counsel continues to do, does not sit well with me at all,” he said.
Judge Motlhala gave both the defence and State grace to file papers before continuation of trial. The trial is set to continue tomorrow.
