The trial of the men accused of the murder of a Bronkhorstspruit magistrate has been postponed to March.
Thomo Ngoato, Paulos Fourie and Thato Maringa appeared in the Pretoria High Court on Monday, when their case was postponed as two of them did not have lawyers present.
The three are accused gunning down Victor Mabunda in his driveway last January as he arrived from work.
Mabunda was expected to hand down judgment in case in which Ngoato appeared accused of smuggling drugs into Baviaanspoort prison.
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He and Fourie were wardens while Maringa an inmate in the prison.
Family spokesperson Chris Mabunda said the family was still having a tough time coming to terms with the loss.
“We miss him dearly; the special moments we shared with him, we can never have those back,” he said.
“But we are taking it a day at a time.”
Chris said it was even harder on Mabunda’s two children, Charnele and Sabastian.
He said the loss took a toll on them and he hoped that justice would help heal their wounds.
“Charnele used to attend the bail hearings with us, but stopped along the way because its hard on them.”
He said the family was encouraging the pair to attend the trial, hoping that knowing what happened would help them find closure.
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“We need to understand what exactly happened.”
Chris said the family was planning a tombstone unveiling in April.
The court will now sit from 18 to 26 March.
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