J Arthur Brown is still waiting for his legal aid lawyer to be officially appointed, the Western Cape High Court heard.
|||Cape Town -
Former Fidentia head J Arthur Brown is still waiting for his legal aid lawyer to be officially appointed, the Western Cape High Court heard on Monday.
Cape Town legal aid principal Cobus Esterhuizen said everything was finalised on Friday to appoint Braganza Pretorius, but that approval was still needed from the board.
He told Judge Anton Veldhuizen an answer would hopefully come through before Thursday.
Despite not yet being appointed, Pretorius was present in court and sat in front of Brown.
Brown is on trial for allegedly running a pyramid scheme and using investors' funds for his personal gain.
He has pleaded not guilty to four counts of fraud, two of corruption, one of money-laundering and two of theft.
His trial was originally set down to start on January 31, 2011, but has been dogged by delays because of frequent changes in his legal representation.
The State intends calling its next witness on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Jannie van Vuuren said the witness was still in Johannesburg and had been subject to flight delays. He would hopefully fly to Cape Town on Monday evening.
Veldhuizen said he hoped the witness would be present, “otherwise I'm going to fly”. - Sapa