The murder trial of Hlabirwa Rassie Nkuna, accused in the high-profile killing of Hillary Gardee, was postponed by the Mpumalanga High Court today.

Mpumalanga News reports that the trial, which was scheduled to commence today, has been pushed back to October 28 to allow Legal Aid South Africa to appoint a new legal representative for the accused, after he requested his previous attorney recuse himself.

The need to secure appropriate legal counsel ensures that the accused’s constitutional right to a fair trial is upheld before proceedings can formally begin.

Nkuna was out on parole at the time of the murder and was later arrested on August 11, 2022. He confessed that he had met Gardee on Facebook, which led to an in-person meeting in Mbombela on April 29.

Nkuna is currently serving two life sentences for murders committed after Gardee’s death. Her body was discovered in a plantation between Sabie and Lydenburg on May 3, 2022, about five days after disappearing from her rented home in KaMagugu, outside Mbombela.

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