Sonell Joubert murder case postponed to May 8 for further police investigations
Joubert has previously been denied bail and she was remanded in custody.
The Tonga Magistrate’s Court has again postponed the murder case of Sonell Joubert, this time to Thursday, May 8. She has been remanded in custody.
She is accused of stabbing Jurgens Nel to death at the Lowhills Farm in the Nkomazi Region early in February.
Joubert appeared in the court today, Thursday March 27, where she was told that the matter was postponed for further investigations.
This after the State requested a postponement, saying a photo album and two witness statements were still outstanding.
Joubert’s lawyer, Marco Lamberti, first apologised to the court for his late arrival and explained that the rented car he was driving had a flat tyre close to Marloth Park.
ALSO READ: TIMELINE | 12 months of key events on Lowhills Farm leading up to Jurgens Nel’s death
The magistrate immediately greeted him without entertaining his apology.
“Good morning to you,” the magistrate greeted Lamberti, who greeted her back before the prosecutor continued.
“The matter may be postponed for further investigation to the 8th day of May 2025; what is outstanding is as follows: a photo album and two witness statements,” said the prosecutor, Benet Jali.
Lamberti asked the State if Joubert’s profiling had been completed or not. Jali said that it had not been finalised.
Lamberti stated that he was planning to apply for condonation for the application of leave to appeal the court’s refusal of bail for Joubert.
She was denied bail on Monday, February 24, after changing lawyers and submitting two supplementary affidavits in her intention to secure bail.
During the judgment of her bail application, the court heard that she no longer had a residential address, was a flight risk and could interfere with witnesses.
Joubert was arrested on February 4 after she went to the KwaMhlushwa Police Station to meet with the investigating officer, Sergeant Bonginkosi Given Nguyuza.
The latter had met with Joubert and her life partner, Johann Möller, on the farm the previous day. That was the day on which Nguyuza discovered Nel’s body with six stab wounds to his upper body and asked Joubert as to what had happened.
The court previously heard that Joubert told Nguyuza that she and Nel had had a fight in which she stabbed him with a knife.
It was also revealed in court that the murder weapon has not been found, resulting in Nguyuza saying Joubert could, therefore, not to be trusted.
Nguyuza told the court at the time that he believed that although he found the body on Monday, February 3, Nel might have been killed two days prior.
Joubert had approached the KwaMhlushwa police two days before and claimed that Nel had violated the protection order she had against him.
Later that night, two police officers attended to a complaint on the farm, but could not speak to Nel after Joubert and Möller told them that he had locked himself in the house, and was aggressive and armed.
The police left the scene.
On Monday, February 3, Nguyuza and seven other police members went to Lowhills to look for Nel, only to find him dead.
