THE murder trial of Glenwood bed and breakfast owner Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Needham has been adjourned to January 21, 2026, following a brief sitting at the Durban High Court this morning.

The trial was set to be heard from October 9 to November 7, however, with the volume of evidence yet to be presented and the number of witnesses still to testify, the matter had to be adjourned to next year. “We are unable to call another witness at this time and leave the testimony and evidence hanging,” said Judge Khosi Hadebe before setting a provisional date of January.

The four accused, Mzotelwa Manelisi Jali, 24, Mdumiseni Gumede, 21, Bernard Langa, 25, and Fana Bruce Nomfemfe, 51, will remain behind bars until their next appearance. They face charges of murder, robbery with aggravated circumstances, conspiracy to commit robbery, perjury, defeating the ends of justice and illegal possession of a firearm, which all men have pleaded not guilty to.

Also Read: CCTV footage played in court at Needham murder trial

According to State prosecutor Advocate Thabani Buthelezi, they still have a minimum of six people that will be testifying in the new year, while the defence has stated that they have about four witnesses in addition to two of the accused also opting to enter the witness box. Before the matter could be adjourned, the court heard from expert witness Manuel Govender from Telkom, whose testimony allegedly linked the four accused to the gruesome murder and robbery of 69-year-old Needham.

Needham’s body was found bound with bedding and with blood splatter by a former employee on the morning of August 11, 2022. She had been robbed and murdered the night before.

Also Read: Tears in court as witness recalls discovery of Glenwood guesthouse owner’s body

Giving his testimony, Govender said data indicated that there were nearly 900 transactions (calls and text messages) made between all four accused between the period of August 11, 2022 and March 14, 2023. One of those was played out in court. Obtained via CCTV, it showed accused one withdrawing a sum of money allegedly from the deceased’s bank account at an ATM on Dr Pixley ka Seme Street (West Street).

After withdrawing the money, he proceeded to make a call, allegedly to accused three. Jali, Gumede, Langa, and Nomfembe would later meet at Liberty Liquors to allegedly spend some of that money. Linking the accused, Govender confirmed that “there were 422 transaction between accused one and three, 221 between accused one and accused four and 81 between accused one and two” all made between August 2022 and March 2023.

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