Cape Town - Cytheria Rex’s mother can breathe a sigh of relief after the six men accused of murdering the teen had their application to discharge them dismissed.
This week, Virgil Sass, Oswill Grootboom, Imeraan Hendricks, Lee Cloete, Rhonwen Rhode and Keenan Lewis made an appearance at the Blue Downs Regional Court where they heard the judgment into their Section 174 application.
The court dismissed the application and marked that the trial would continue in the new year.
This is a victory for the the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Cytheria’s mother, Jacqueline Rex, who has been praying for the men to remain accused of the charges they are facing.
“I am feeling very relieved. My God will not see that they walk free. They must sit for many years behind bars and get the punishment they deserve. We have waited for too long for this and after all the delays and all the slacking. God does not sleep.”
NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila confirmed that the matter continued to remain on the court roll.
“The application was dismissed, and the case was postponed until March 25, 2024, for further trial.”
Previously, Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola, said they would be observing and monitoring the case, which has been postponed 114 times over 14 years, and would be informing the minister of its status and asked to be kept in communication about its outcome.
The ministry was informed of the new date and that the application was unsuccessful.
One of the accused, Warren Robertson, died in May 2017 after he was shot and killed.
In a report compiled by the NPA earlier this year, each postponement was listed with reasons which included bail applications, accused absenteeism, prosecutor absence and once due to an accused being diagnosed with Covid-19.
Cytheria was raped and stabbed more than 40 times before her body was forced into a wheelie bin and dumped on a field in Kraaifontein in 2009.
It had been Cytheria’s blood which made a trail where she was murdered to where she was dumped, leading police to the doorstep of her alleged killers.
Jacqueline previously described the brutal murder, stating that her daughter’s neck had been split and that she had been placed inside a bin after her body was twisted and mangled.
MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety Reagen Allen has called for Cytheria’s case to be completed after being observed by their Court Watch brief.