Update: Warrant of arrest cancelled as suspended Malalane attorney’s trial is set to commence

Suspended Malalane attorney Zietta Janse van Rensburg’s trial is set to commence on September 11.

She appeared in the Malelane Periodical Court today, after failing to appear on Monday.

Janse van Rensburg told the court she was under the impression that the Malelane Periodical Court only sat on Wednesdays and she was preoccupied at the High Court in Mbombela on Monday.

She also mentioned in her explanation to Judge Jacob Mamabolo that she had briefed the control prosecutor on her whereabouts and brought all the documents to prove it.

State Prosecutor Dudu Vilakazi argued that it had become common for Janse van Rensburg to miss court appearances as Monday’s absence was not her first.

After adjourning briefly to engage on further discussions with the prosecutor on the merits of the case, Mamabolo accepted her explanation to the court and cancelled the warrant of arrest that had been issued against Janse van Rensburg on Monday.

Vilakazi handed copies of the docket to her to study before the trial commences next month. Asked whether she will continue to represent herself, Janse van Rensburg confirmed to Mamabolo that she would.

Janse van Rensburg has been charged with fraud, forgery and uttering, which stem from a settlement agreement between two parties of which she represented one.

Mamabolo also instructed Janse van Rensburg to seek clarity from the prosecutors regarding the docket to avoid possible postponements with witnesses called to the trial.