While some cases drew international media attention, court buffs were left wanting for the most part of 2013 with many characters of last year stealing the headlines this year. Here's who you saw and who you can look forward to seeing more of in the New Year, writes Rizwana Sheik Umar.
“AXEMAN”
Former Blue Bulls flanker, Joseph Ntshongwana who allegedly decapitated his victims with an axe will resume his spot at the Durban High Court next month. Ntshongwana is on trial for the murders of Thembelenkosini Cebekhulu on March 20, 2011, Paulos Hlongwa two days later, Simon Ngidi the following day, and an unidentified man some time that week. He also faces two counts of attempted murder, kidnapping and rape.
His defence is that he has a mental illness. The State alleges that Ntshongwana was aware of his actions and tried to cover his tracks.
The court heard that blood stains, which had been washed or wiped out, had been found by forensic investigators.
BODY SNATCHERS
The marathon five-year trial of a trio of scammers dubbed “The Body snatchers”, concluded this month when Judge Fikile Mokgohloa sentenced them each to life-term imprisonment.
Maryanne Dimba, Linda Mdluli and Sibusiso Buthelezi, ran what they thought was a foolproof enterprise using corpses for insurance payouts.
Their enterprise involved killing people, stealing identity documents planting information on their corpses and then claiming from life insurance companies.
They were linked to the deaths of eight unidentified people who were murdered or had died in car accidents between November 2005 and March 2008 – the duration of the scam.
The State could not prove they had murdered all their victims, but Dimba, the mastermind, was convicted on seven counts of conspiracy to murder, and one of murder.
Her partners were convicted of one count of conspiracy to murder and one count of murder each.
OSCAR PISTORIUS
Motionless in the dock, head bowed, hands clasped to the front facing the worlds’ media who descended upon Pretoria Magistrate’s Court to witness the beginning of what will undoubtedly become one of the most watched trials of our time.
Not many of us will easily forget that image of Oscar Pistorius, the darling of the 2012 London Olympics, where he was charged for premeditated murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
He has denied he had any intention to kill Steenkamp, at his home in an exclusive estate in the east of Pretoria, and said in an affidavit that he thought he was shooting at an intruder.
The State painted a different picture claiming that Steenkamp had locked herself in the toilet cubicle to protect herself after the couple had been arguing and that Pistorius shot at the bathroom door knowing the person behind the door could be killed.
The State will argue that an error in persona will not affect the intention to kill a human being. Pistorius will stand trial at the Pretoria High Court in March.
As the world waits in anticipation to hear more detail of that fateful night, one thing is certain, the story of Pistorius and Steenkamp will be making headlines long after the judge has his final say.
‘MODIMOLLE MONSTER’
Johan Kotze, will forever be known as the “Modimolle Monster”, for orchestrating the brutal gang-rape of his estranged wife, Ina Bonnette and the murder of her 19-year-old son, Conrad Bonette.
In July, Judge Bert Bam sentenced Kotze and Andries Sithole to two life sentences each for murder and rape. Pieta Mohlake and Sello Mphaka were also sentenced to life imprisonment for gang-raping Bonette.
Bam described Kotze as “inherently evil” when he convicted him and said he and the others had shown no remorse.
Bonette testified that Kotze had sexually tortured her and cut off her nipples while the others looked on before they took turns to rape her at Kotze’s house in Modimolle on January 3 last year. The gruesome and sadistic nature of the attack had the public’s attention from start to finish.
THANDI MAQUBELA
Chic Johannesburg businesswoman, Thandi Maqubela, stole headlines this year when she appeared at the Western Cape High Court for the 2007 murder of her husband, Acting Judge Patrick Maqubela.
Last month, Judge John Murphy found Maqubela guilty of murder and fraud and forgery for doctoring her deceased husband’s will. She was denied bail this month, pending her sentence in the New Year.
Judge Murphy convicted Maqubela despite there being no conclusive medical evidence pinpointing a cause of death.
He said death from natural causes or suicide was excluded primarily by Maqubela’s conduct, a plethora of lies and her persistence in “irrational subterfuge” which was incompatible with an innocent person.
A series of calls and messages were used to prove that Maqubela had lied about her movements, and that she was in possession of her husband’s phone while his body lay decomposing in a Bantry Bay flat.
The deceased’s body was found layered in two sets of clothing, covered with a sheet with more than one fan heater switched on, raising the inside temperature to more than 30°C. In his verdict, Judge Murphy found Maqubela did kill her husband but how she did it still remains a mystery.
SANELE MAY
Sympathy poured in quickly for the Swazi citizen, facing 24 counts of murder after the 18-wheeler he was driving ploughed into four minibus taxis and two cars at an intersection at the bottom of Field’s Hill on the M13 in Pinetown in September.
Images of Sanele May sobbing uncontrollably at the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court sparked kindness and compassion among hundreds who showed their support by posting messages online on the Sanele May Support Group which, within days of the horror crash, boasted close to 1 000 supporters.
May remains in custody pending his next court appearance in February.
SHAUWN MPISANE
The flamboyant businesswoman, who first set tongues wagging when she threw a larger-than-life New Year’s Eve bash at her La Lucia home in 2010, spent the greater part of this year in the courtroom.
Whether it was at the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court where she appeared on charges relating to having persuaded a State witness to alter evidence, or the Durban Regional Court where she and her company, Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport, are on trial for 119 counts of tax fraud involving R4.7 million, Shauwn Mpisane, grabbed headlines, mainly for her designer outfits and Lady Gaga inspired footwear.
Both matters have been postponed to next year when the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Mxolisi Nxasana, is expected to decide whether the cases should continue.
If all goes well for Mpisane and the NDPP rules in her favour, Daily News readers can still keep abreast of her latest high fashion apparel next month, at the Commercial Crimes Court, where she is accused of submitting forged documents to obtain Construction Industry Development Board grading used to win contracts worth R140m.
ISHWARLALL RAMLUTCHMAN
The State failed in securing a R52m confiscation order against well-connected businessman, Ishwarlall Ramlutchman, after he pleaded guilty to defrauding the Department of Public Works by tendering for contracts using false documents.
The Richards Bay man gained prominence when he erected eight Sivananda peace pillars across the country.
The court dismissed the application and found there was no case law to refer to on the return of the contract value instead on the return of profit.
The State had failed to determine the profit obtained from the tenders.