The trial of a taxi driver and his guard who allegedly went on a rape and robbery rampage across Cape Town has been delayed.
|||Cape Town - The trial of a taxi driver and his guard, who allegedly went on a rape and robbery rampage across Cape Town six years ago, has been delayed because one of their lawyers failed to show up in court.
The State was expected to lead evidence against Tony Myburgh and Peter Andrews on Tuesday but the case could not go ahead because Andrews’s lawyer, Tashriq Ahmed, was not in court.
The men made a brief appearance before Cape Town Regional Court magistrate Lulumile Mdoda on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Merle Engelbrecht told the court the State was ready to proceed with the case but could not get hold of Ahmed. She had not received any messages from him.
State witness Andrew Davidson, who was expected to testify about video footage of an ATM at which a victim was robbed, was in court on Tuesday.
Mdoda told the men that the case could not go ahead without Andrews’s lawyer.
Myburgh’s lawyer, Andre Kirsten, said he too was not sure why Ahmed was not in court. “We don’t know what is going on. It could be an emergency and he is in hospital or he could be on the side of the road with a broken car,” Kirsten said.
The men are on trial in connection with 20 counts of rape and attempted rape and robbery involving nine women and a man during June 2007.
It is alleged that the taxi was in motion when the robberies took place, but parked in secluded spots when the alleged rapes took place.
Myburgh and Andrews have pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
They were arrested on June 25, 2007 and have been in custody ever since.
The men are due back in court next Tuesday, when the trial is expected to continue.
Cape Argus