Glenmore activist Velile Ben Mafani, still in custody, this week missed yet another scheduled appearance in the Grahamstown Magistrate's Court. According to the state prosecutor, this was because he was had not been requisitioned to come to court.
Glenmore activist Velile Ben Mafani, still in custody, this week missed yet another scheduled appearance in the Grahamstown Magistrate's Court. According to the state prosecutor, this was because he was had not been requisitioned to come to court.
Mafani was due in court on Tuesday to collect copies of his case dockets to prepare for his main trial, for which he had opted to represent himself.
The main trial is in connection with a repeated protest action that entails throwing a brick through a window of the high court in Grahamstown.
Tuesday's court date followed his failure to appear in court last month.
On 26 September Magistrate Maketho Pheko found Mafani guilty of failing to appear in court last month and ordered him to pay R1 500 or spend three months in prison.
During that appearance, Mafani explained to the court that his failure to appear on the previous occasion, 12 September, was because he'd had to consult with his ancestors.
Mafani agreed to obtain the copies of the dockets, costing R1 a page and totalling R40, through legal aid. He'd said at the 26 September hearing that their contents would assist him in his trial, but that he couldn't afford to pay for them.
The case was postponed to Tuesday this week and his bail extended pending payment of the fine. The case has again been postponed, to Tuesday next week, and Mafani is still in custody
