Faced with charges of violating a corpse, Grahamstown funeral parlour owner, Ronel Mostert, joined hands with her lawyer and supporters ahead of her court appearance on Monday, 8 July.
The trial date has been set for 30 September and 1 October.
Mostert allegedly forced two employees to shorten the legs of a corpse which was too tall for his coffin.
Faced with charges of violating a corpse, Grahamstown funeral parlour owner, Ronel Mostert, joined hands with her lawyer and supporters ahead of her court appearance on Monday, 8 July.
The trial date has been set for 30 September and 1 October.
Mostert allegedly forced two employees to shorten the legs of a corpse which was too tall for his coffin.
She faces charges of violation of a corpse after the legs of former Southwell resident, Thamsanqa Tshali, were allegedly shortened with an angle grinder.
Mostert, her attorney, Gys Niesing and a small group sitting outside the court room with her, joined hands in prayer shortly before she made her way into the court room.
The 49-year-old owner of Siyakubonga Funeral Services waited for some time before making a brief appearance. The delay was due to the magistrate attending a pre-trial meeting in chambers.
During the wait Mostert sat alone in court, reading a book.
Siphamandla Dyasi and Mzwanele Klaas claim that Mostert allegedly forced them to use a grinder to cut Tshali's legs shorter so his tall body could fit into a coffin – or risk losing their jobs if they disobeyed her.
The two men worked at Siyakubonga Funeral Services in 2011, when the alleged incident took place. Both tasked with the already grim business of handling dead bodies, they told Grocott's Mail they were shocked when their former employer allegedly asked them to cut the dead man’s legs shorter.
Tshali's body had been at the premises for about a week when the owner allegedly asked Dyasi and Klaas to shorten the legs of the deceased Southwell resident.
In a previous appearance, Mostert appeared before magistrate, Dion Kotze, in the Grahamstown Magistatrate's Court.
However, Kotze, without providing a reason, recused himself from the case. The case was later heard in another court, and postponed for pre-trial.
On Monday, 8 July, state prosecutor, Lyle Prince, told the court that they had agreed with the defence in the pre-trial conference and decided with the magistrate to set a trial date.
The case was postponed to 30 September and 1 October for trial.
