Thursday, February 22, 2024 – TV channel Moja Love has delayed providing the state with video evidence relating to the murder of Robert Varrie during the recording of anti-drug show Sizok’thola, the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court heard on Thursday.
The court proceedings were delayed by more than an hour as
the prosecution waited for the channel to bring the video footage to court
despite a formal request through section 205 of the Criminal Procedure Act,
which allows investigators access to information.
The show’s
former presenter Xolani Khumalo is accused of Varries’s
murder in July 2023 after an interrogation by the show’s crew in July.
Varrie was declared dead after the interrogation and the
alleged assault was witnessed by his partner during the filming of an episode
of Sizok’thola.
State prosecutor Pheello Vilakazi told the court: “A formal request has been lodged with
Moja Love by the state for the purposes of obtaining video footage of the day
of the incident.
“However, Moja Love have prolonged the providing of
the [footage of the] incident to the extent that today they said they will come
to provide the footage but subsequent to that, they said they are not going to
come but they will provide the footage to the investigating officer.”
The footage in question is said to be of use in identifying
further suspects and for forensic investigations.
Dressed in a black and grey checked shirt and black pants,
Khumalo looked relaxed in the dock and spoke to his bodyguards who were manning
the courtroom's entrance.
Behind him, the family and supporters of Varrie, 49, sat
quietly, dressed in white shirts with “Justice
for the murder of Robert Varrie” and “No one is above the law” written on the back.
Supporters of Khumalo, some from Mpumalanga, marched outside
court, wearing shirts depicting his image, and singing and chanting.
In November 2023, the state added two more charges of
robbery with aggravated circumstances and malicious damage to property against
Khumalo.
The case was postponed to April 11.
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