POLOKWANE – The attempted murder trial of musician Lehlohonolo “Shebeshxt” Chauke was postponed to September 10 after his legal team said it needed more time to consult on new charges and to challenge the State’s decision to revive several previously withdrawn cases.

Chauke appeared in the Polokwane Regional Court on Friday facing charges of attempted murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and assault.

State adds new charges, withdraws one

The State applied to add two further charges: culpable homicide and an alternative count, as well as reckless or negligent driving. It also withdrew one firearm possession charge. The changes left Chauke facing 21 counts instead of 22.

His defence advocate, Nthapeletseng Mathabatha, asked for a postponement to get instructions on the new charges.

“The defence must be given an opportunity to consult with the accused regarding the additional charges,” he told the court, noting that the case particulars had only reached his chambers the night before.

Defence to challenge ‘improper consolidation’

Mathabatha said the defence would not oppose the addition of charges, citing Section 81 of the Criminal Procedure Act, but objected to what he called the “improper consolidation” of matters from other jurisdictions, including cases previously withdrawn or settled through alternative dispute resolution.

While the defence accepted counts one to four as proper, Mathabatha said they intended to take the reinstated counts on review to the High Court.

He said the defence would first write to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) asking for reconsideration of the consolidation decision, and for clarity on who authorised the reinstatement of the withdrawn matters and why.

“The main ground for review will be abuse of power,” he submitted, and requested 60 days to complete the process.

“If we reach agreement with the Director, we will return and say we are ready to proceed with the pre-trial. But if the Director insists on consolidation, we will approach the High Court,” he said.

State does not oppose representations

The State said it did not oppose the defence’s constitutional right to make representations to the DPP, but noted that the new charges meant the accused needed reasonable time to consider them.

Magistrate grants postponement

The magistrate granted the postponement, but made it clear it was for consultation on the two new charges, not for the pending DPP representations. She ordered that a pre-trial conference go ahead in September regardless of the outcome of any review, to avoid piecemeal litigation.

Chauke remains in custody and will appear virtually on the new court date.