Sonell Joubert, accused of murdering Jurgens Nel, will remain in police custody for another week before finding out if she will be granted bail.

Lowvelder reports she was arrested on February 3 after Nel’s body was found in his room on the Lowhills farm in the Strijdomblok area near Hectorspruit.

Joubert applied for bail last week but has since changed her defence team. The new team requested the bail hearing be reopened to submit new evidence. Lowvelder journalist Riot Hlatshwayo, who attended the case in the Tonga Magistrate’s Court today, reported that the prosecutor objected to the submission of another affidavit, but the objection was overruled.

In their submission, the defence claimed Joubert acted in self-defence and argued the case should be registered as a schedule 5 offence rather than schedule 6 (premeditated murder). During the trial, the state will aim to convince the court that Joubert stabbed Nel six times, locked him up, and then went to the police station to report him for violating a protection order.

Magistrate Ningi Neko said she was ready to deliver judgment on Joubert’s previous bail application, but the case had to be postponed due to her legal team change. It has now been postponed to next Monday.

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