Another delay in Rhino case
The set trial date of alleged smuggling kingpin, Joseph Nyalungu and his co-accused have been dealt another blow when some of the accused indicated that they ended the mandate of their lawyer.
Nyalungu together with Conrad Nkuna was arrested in December 2011 in possession of a large amount of money on the N4 close to Middelburg. Both men worked as police officers in the past.
Since their arrest, investigations have led to another 11 suspects being charged. Among them are two Vietnamese and several Mozambican nationals.
During a previous court appearance Nyalungu’s defence requested for the trial to be moved to Nelspruit. The request has since been denied and the trial was set to start in the Middelburg court next month.
During the last court appearance on Monday, five Mozambican accused ended the services of their Legal Aid lawyer. Four of them indicated that they will appoint private legal representation whilst one is said to re-apply for Legal Aid. The mandate of the original Legal Aid lawyer was ended because he allegedly did not follow his clients’ instructions.
This means that with the next court date next month, the new defense attorneys will appear before court and proceedings for the state to provide them with the almost 3 000 pages of documentation, will start.
Although no official statement has been made, trusted sources say that this will delay the trial once again.
Nyalungu, also known as Big Joe, and his 12 co-accused face several charges including trading in protected wildlife, money laundering, racketeering, drug possession, conspiracy to commit a crime and employing illegal immigrants.
