30 days’ psychiatric observation for Metrorail arson accused
A bed has been made available at Valkenberg.
Thobela Xoseni appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates Court for the third time today before being referred to Valkenberg psychiatric institution. Photo: Tariro Washinyira/GroundUp
Metrorail arson accused Thobela Xoseni is to be admitted to Valkenberg psychiatric institution for observation for 30 days, a court heard on Monday.
The Cape Town Magistrates Court was told on 3 May that a bed had been made available at Valkenberg.
Xoseni appeared for the third time before Cape Town magistrate R Khan.
He is charged with contravening section 3(1) (a) of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act by intentionally damaging essential infrastructure. This follows the torching of several carriages in Cape Town station in April.
The matter will be heard again on 2 July after the observation period is over.
Senior Legal Aid defence advocate Mornay Calitz, who is representing Xoseni, told GroundUp that he was happy with the process.
“His name was far down the list but the authorities we worked with managed to prioritise his case,” Calitz said.
On 2 May the court ruled that Xoseni must be kept in the hospital until a bed was made available at Valkenberg, a psychiatric hospital in Cape Town.
Republished from GroundUp
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