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Bridge crash lawyer Bashan Naicker has been given seven more months to prepare for his murder trial.
Durban – Bridge crash lawyer Bashan Naicker has been given seven more months to prepare for his trial, but has been warned by the presiding magistrate that he must be ready to proceed in October.
Naicker was meant to stand trial on April 8 on triple murder charges, but last week he was granted a lengthy adjournment by Durban regional court magistrate Thomas Nhleko.
The murder charges relate to an accident on Durban’s Athlone Bridge in March 2011 in which Gillian Bell, her eight-year-old son, Connor, and dance teacher Carmen Hunter were killed.
He is also facing attempted murder charges relating to injuries sustained by others in the accident, and a host of other charges relating to reckless and drunk driving in unrelated incidents.
Naicker’s attorney, Mervyn Maistry, said on Monday he had applied for the adjournment because they were not ready for the trial.
“The basis of the application was the prejudice he (Naicker) would suffer if we went ahead with the trial without being prepared. We were not able to properly consult with him because he was in jail for about four months, and our counsel was also not available for the April trial dates.”
Maistry said the defence also needed to consult “a range of experts”.
He said the application had been opposed by the State, but Nhleko had decided it was in the interests of justice to grant the postponement.
“The magistrate made it clear that the case must proceed in October.”
Two weeks ago, Naicker was granted bail of R8 000 and given permission to drive after he brought an application in the Durban magistrate’s court based on new facts.
Families of the victims were outraged by the court’s decision, and widower Jason Bell said he had not been informed about the fresh bail application.
Naicker was jailed last November after magistrate Anita Govender found he had “total disrespect and disregard” for his bail conditions by driving on several occasions and, according to one witness, after having drunk alcohol.
Charlotte Sullivan, from South Africans Against Drunk Driving, an organisation which has been following the case, said it was disappointing that the case would now take even longer to get to trial.
“It is now more than two years since the accident, and the trial has not even begun yet. This is not good for anyone. What more do the families of the victims have to go through?”
The National Prosecuting Authority did not respond to questions about the matter on Monday.
kamini.padayachee@inl.co.za
The Mercury
