Internationally acclaimed artist Zwelethu Mthethwa appeared briefly in a Cape Town court on a murder charge.
|||Cape Town - Internationally acclaimed artist Zwelethu Mthethwa appeared briefly in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on a charge of murder on Monday morning.
Mthethwa was making his second appearance in connection with the murder of a sex worker earlier this year.
The State alleges that Mthethwa fatally assaulted 23-year-old Nokuphila Kumalo on April 14. He is alleged to have repeatedly beaten and kicked her in the Tollgate Industrial Centre in Woodstock at about 2am that morning.
Mthethwa, 52, has been linked to the crime via video footage that allegedly showed his car at the murder scene.
Mthethwa, a photographer, is well-known for his large-scale portraits of impoverished shack-dwellers and KZN cane workers.
According to the charge sheet, Mthethwa has no previous convictions, no pending cases and no warrants for his arrest.
While he had said he could afford R50 000 bail during an earlier appearance, the court found it was in the interest of justice to release him on bail of R100 000.
On Monday morning, prosecutor Mbulelo Koti said the police investigation was complete and the case was ready to be transferred to the regional court.
It is, however, unclear whether Mthethwa will go on trial in the Cape Town Regional Court or the Western Cape High Court.
His lawyer William Booth asked that the prosecution supply copies of the case docket to the defence before his client’s next court appearance.
Magistrate Alfrieda Lewis postponed the case to October 10 to obtain a regional court date. Mthethwa was released and warned to return to court at 8.30am on the next appearance.
jade.otto@inl.co.za
Cape Argus