A trial date for the case against the three accused of murdering the acclaimed local anaesthetist, Dr Nicholas Proctor, has been set.

Bheki Ndlovu (38), Nkateko Tshidzumba (24) and Siyabonga Kekana (20) are due to appear in the Nelspruit Regional Court on December 2.

On Friday, September 27, the presiding officer, Magistrate Patrick Morris, ordered all three accused to appear for trial in person.

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In recent sittings, Ndlovu and Tshidzumba had appeared virtually from the Barberton Correctional Services via the court’s AVR system, while only Kekana, who is kept at the Mbombela Correctional Services, appeared in person.

Proctor was murdered on January 31 and was first reported missing when he failed to show up for work at Mediclinic Nelspruit the next morning.

His body was found, his hands and feet tied, in a vacation rental flat in the Mopani block of Green Valley Estate later that afternoon.

All three accused were arrested on February 5 near their homes in Protea Glen near Soweto and face a raft of serious charges, including murder (a schedule 6 offence), kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, theft and attempted theft.

The suspects first appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on February 6. On that day, the court heard that a fourth suspect was being sought. However, that suspect remains at large.

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