THE Pinetown Regional Court heard on Wednesday (September 23) that Anthony Edward Ball, who was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for a Kloof road rage murder, has fallen ill and has been hospitalised at the Westville prison.

The court was due to hear his applications for leave to appeal his sentence and conviction, as well as one for bail.

Ball was recently convicted of the 2022 murder of Dean Charnley during a road rage incident in the Kloof area.

On Wednesday the State Prosecutor told the presiding officer, Magistrate Muntu Khumalo, that Ball is reportedly bedridden, frail and is making use of a wheelchair.

The prosecutor added that an application will be filed to permit the investigating officer to obtain all the necessary documents to determine Ball’s exact state of health “so that we know how to navigate going forward”.

Addressing Khumalo, Ball’s legal representative Advocate Gideon Scheltema SC said there has been no response to either the applications which were filed on the day, August 3, when Ball was sentenced, or to affidavits provided to the State on September 17 outlining his deteriorating health.

Also read: Kloof road rage murderer back in Pinetown court

“This very serious situation has developed in that Mr Ball has been incarcerated for two months and his right for a bail application and an application for leave to appeal has been frustrated,” said Scheltema.

The defence Advocate added that they are of the view that this has escalated to a human rights violation issue and different sections of the Constitution, namely sections 34, 35 and 38, will be visited to seek relief.

Khumalo interjected and pointed out to Scheltema that it appeared that the application for leave to appeal could not proceed on Wednesday, which subsequently means the bail one, too, could not be heard.

“So I am not going to entertain this matter today. I appreciate it is an urgent matter,” said Khumalo, who cited other issues which had “overtaken” Ball’s applications.

Khumalo reiterated that case law makes it clear that the bail application can only be heard once the court has dealt with the application for leave to appeal.

Scheltema’s persistence resulted with the matter on Wednesday being stood down for 14:00.

For more from the Highway Mail, follow us on Facebook , X and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.

Click to subscribe to our newsletter here