- A man who was arrested after the decomposed bodies of sex workers were found in his father's workshop will spend Christmas behind bars.
- The matter against Sifiso Mkhwanazi was rolled over to February due to incomplete investigations, including acquiring DNA linking him to the other five bodies.
- Mkhwanzi faces only one charge of murder.
A 20-year-old man arrested and charged with murder after six decomposed bodies of sex workers were found in his father's workshop will spend Christmas behind bars after the matter was postponed to next year.
Sfiso Mkhwanazi made a brief appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
He was arrested in October after six semi-naked and decomposed bodies were discovered at a panel beating workshop in the Johannesburg city centre.
Even though six bodies were found, Mkhwanazi has only been charged with one count of premeditated murder.
Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority Phindi Mjonondwane previously said that Mkhwanazi had only been linked to one murder, and that investigations into the other five continued.
When he appeared in court in October, Mkhwanazi abandoned his bail application.
He arrived in court in a tracksuit sweater and a mask on Wednesday.
Prosecutor Tshepo Mahange-KaMzizi requested that the matter be postponed as investigations were not yet finalised.
"We have an application before the court for a remand for further investigations. We had previously indicated to the court that the DNA was outstanding.
He said:
Mahange-KaMzizi told the court that they were dealing with a possible High Court matter, as they had six bodies that they needed to account for.
"We have instructed the South African Police Service to do certain parts that needed to be done, but that has not happened.
"We have had a meeting with the investigating officer [regarding] everything that has to do with this matter. Mind you, this is a matter that has community and public interest; we cannot drop the ball, and these are some of the matters we have discussed with the police," he said
While the prosecutor did not go into detail about the tasks the police had failed to perform, he did say that they had since put the police on terms.
Mahange-KaMzizi said they needed to look beyond the one count of murder with which Mkhwanazi had been charged, given that six bodies had been found in the workshop.
"As the court can remember, we only have one body to account for, and the facts in this matter speak of six. The court needs to take account as to what happens to the [five bodies] which are also part of this investigation."
'We believe there will be progress'
The State then asked for the matter to be postponed to 2023 to give them time to finalise the DNA, as well as link Mkhwanazi to the other five bodies.
Mkhwenazi's new defence lawyer, from Legal Aid South Africa, Senyane Mogase did not object to the postponement, adding that factors raised by the State indicated that more charges might be added.
"In a case that the accused is linked to the other bodies, there might be a possibility that more issues might be raised. But be as it may as to why these investigations are taking too long, I think a date would afford the State an opportunity to finalise its investigation.
Mogase said:
The magistrate, who had no issue with the postponement, said the case has not been on the court roll for long, and that delayed investigations were not unusual for a murder case of this nature.
With that, the magistrate granted the State's request to postpone the matter to February for further investigations.
Speaking to media outside the court, Mjonondwane was hopeful that they would have concluded their investigation by the time the matter returned to court.
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Reacting to the matter being possibly taken to the High Court, she said there had been a meeting with the chief prosecutor and the investigating team regarding the challenges the prosecutor was facing regarding the work that needed to be completed by the investigating team.
"The chief prosecutor has intervened, and we believe that there will be progress."