The murder trial of football administrator and businessman Mashumi Shongwe has been delayed after the Crown disclosed that case dockets were lost during investigations, resulting in crucial statements remaining missing to date.
The disclosure was made yesterday at the High Court, where prosecuting counsel Ngcebo Lukhele told Judge Sabelo Masuku that the prosecution had been forced to reconstruct the dockets after they went missing while investigations were ongoing.
The missing documents include statements allegedly made by Shongwe before Principal Magistrate Florence Msibi, which the Crown has been unable to retrieve despite contacting the Nhlangano Magistrate’s Court.
The development has left the defence unable to prepare for trial, with defence counsel Ben J Simelane arguing that they cannot proceed without knowing the full extent of the evidence the Crown intends presenting against his client.
Lukhele admitted that the prosecution was still searching for the statements made before the judicial officer.
“The statements made before the judicial officer did not have a copy and as such, till date we could not get the same statements acquired at the judicial officer,” he told the court.
He further revealed that the Crown had contacted the Nhlangano Magistrate’s Court in an attempt to obtain the statements but had not received them.
“Regarding the statements made by the judicial officer, the Crown would have loved to have the statements and as things stand, the Crown was still looking for the same,” Lukhele said.
The missing statements became a major obstacle to the commencement of the trial, with Simelane informing the court that the defence had repeatedly requested the outstanding documents but had not received the complete docket.
“We are not in receipt of the scenes of crime report, investigating officer’s report and we do not have the statements that the accused made before Principal Magistrate Florence Msibi.
We requested that all the documents be furnished to us,” he said.
Simelane complained that the Crown had been supplying the defence with statements in dribs and drabs, making it difficult for them to prepare adequately.
He said the investigating officer’s report was particularly important as it would provide an overview of the exhibits involved in the matter.
The defence counsel argued that without the statements and investigative reports, they could not establish the full extent of the Crown’s case or understand the evidence that would be presented during the trial. “If you remember, my Lord, I raised the matter of statements which are still not furnished to us and those statements are crucial in this matter for us to understand the length and depth of the Crown’s case.
We do not even know the kind of exhibits that are going to be presented before court,” Simelane said.
He maintained that the defence was not trial-ready because of the outstanding documents.
Judge Masuku questioned Simelane about what had been covered during the pre-trial proceedings, asking whether the session should have dealt with issues such as the accused’s plea and the number of witnesses the Crown intended calling.
Simelane responded that the pre-trial discussions had addressed whether Shongwe would plead guilty or not guilty and the number of witnesses, excluding the pathologist.
However, he insisted that the outstanding statements remained a fundamental issue.
Meanwhile, Lukhele informed the court that the Crown had managed to secure the scenes of crime report and undertook to furnish the defence with a copy by close of business yesterday.
He explained that he only had a soft copy of the report during the proceedings. He also undertook to provide Simelane with the investigating officer’s report.
TRIAL PUSHED TO FEBRUARY 2027
Following the submissions, Judge Masuku briefly adjourned the proceedings before informing the parties that the matter would not proceed because crucial statements were still missing.
The judge noted that although the matter had been progressing over the previous few days, the outstanding documents remained a stumbling block to the commencement of the trial. He consequently postponed the matter to February 2, 2027 during the next session of the High Court. The postponement means Shongwe will have to wait longer for his murder trial, with the defence still demanding access to documents that should enable it to prepare its case.
