Following an application submitted by his defence, Advocate Marianne Mampuru, the trial against the alleged Daveyton/Thembisa serial rapist, Sipho Lucas Phiri, was postponed to November 10.

Phiri took the stand on Monday (July 14) after State prosecutor Esther Kabini rested her case on July 9.

Giving his testimony in Sepedi through a translator, the former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) security guard recounted his arrest in Mayfield on January 22, 2022, and the three ID parades that followed on January 24, February 6 and March 28.

According to his defence, this formed part of the first stage of his testimony to prove alleged protocol irregularities during the process.

Mampuru is contesting the validity of the parades, which formed part of the evidence presented to Judge Rasigamani Bhika during the Gauteng Division High Court sitting at the Benoni Magistrate’s Court since the start of the trial on August 28, 2024. She argued that stipulated protocols were not followed.

Upon the conclusion of Phiri’s testimony just before 13:00, the State’s Kabini became vocal about her dissatisfaction regarding Mampuru’s sudden application to have the matter postponed until November.

On July 9, the defence attorney requested a postponement, stating that she needed July 10 and 11 to prepare her client before taking the stand for the week.

“We are not ready to lead evidence in merit of each of the charges brought against my client through testimony,” Mampuru said to the court when supplying reasons for the application.

Opposing the application, Kabini stated, “The defence has had time to prepare its defence since last August. The level of preparedness shows disrespect to the witnesses who have testified since the trial’s start.

“The State has brought 63 witnesses, all of whom are waiting for this matter to be finalised to gain closure and healing.”

Granting the defence’s application, Bhika said it was the court’s understanding that the accused would testify for the entire week and that the request had taken them by surprise.

“It must be said that the State and the defence have worked incredibly hard throughout the trial and used their time adequately to present their evidence,” she said.

“Given the mass of evidence brought before the court, the accused must be granted appropriate time to prepare.”
Mampuru indicated that she would need three weeks to present her case.

Phiri stands accused of 44 counts of rape committed between 2018 and 2023 in Thembisa, Norkem Park, Daveyton and Putfontein.

Additional charges include 43 counts of kidnapping, 41 of pointing a firearm, and 17 more that include fraud, the obstruction of justice, compelling someone to witness a sexual act, and contraventions of the Police and Firearms Control Acts.

During the testimony of a SAPS Forensics Sciences Laboratory in Pretoria (who requested anonymity), samples from rape kits dated between 2018 and 2023 were analysed and compared to Phiri’s samples.

Twenty-one of them showed the presence of donor DNA matching that of the accused.

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