Former Prasa security guard Sipho Lucas Phiri will have to wait until February 23 to continue his testimony in his defence in a Gauteng High Court sitting at the Benoni Magistrate’s Court.

The trial was once again postponed last week due to the hospitalisation of the Chief Albert Luthuli resident’s defence counsel, Advocate Marianne Mampuru.

Continuation of the trial was delayed on November 13 when State prosecutor Esther Kabini stated that Mampuru had submitted a medical certificate indicating that she had been placed on sick leave until November 19.

The State requested that the matter be postponed until November 24, giving Mampuru sufficient time to recuperate.

At the time, Acting Judge Rasigamani Bhika granted the request but expressed concern over Mampuru’s ongoing health issues and how the postponement would affect the time frame set aside for the accused’s testimony, which was expected to conclude by December 5.

Phiri was arrested on January 22, 2023, in Mayfield. He stands accused of 44 counts of rape, allegedly committed between 2018 and 2023 in Thembisa, Norkem Park, Daveyton and Putfontein.

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

Since the start of the trial on August 28 last year, more than 60 witnesses – including complainants, an expert from the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory in Pretoria, and the investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Kaizer Mbele of the Benoni Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit – have taken the stand.

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