Legal Aid South Africa has launched a new assessment into alleged underworld kingpin, Nafiz Modack, amid ongoing delays at the Western Cape High Court.
Modack along with his younger brother, Yaseen, returned to the dock on Monday. Their trial has been put on hold because they do not have lawyers yet.
The trial kicked off last month and is centred on the murder of Lieutenant- Colonel Charl Kinnear.
On the first day of trial it was revealed that while Modack had passed the “means tests” which proved he did not have money for a private lawyer, his application to Legal Aid was denied because he insisted that they appoint his former counsel.
Modack subsequently appealed this finding.
Addressing the court yesterday, Judge Robert Henney said he had received a letter from Legal Aid stating that they were unable to appoint a lawyer for Modack.
Elroy Mc Helm, head of Legal Aid Cape Town, said the matter was expedited and explained that, based on Modack’s appeal, their committee had found there were things Modack had not disclosed to them.
Mc Helm said Legal Aid was not the reason for the delays and clarified that the entity could review the finances of applicants at any stage in a trial.
Mc Helm says: “The matter is now at our national office and it was found that there were certain things that were not disclosed.”
He said they were unable to access Modack in the mang and required more information from him. Modack told the court he needed access to a phone to be able to call relatives, lawyers and accountants to source the relevant documentation.
Meanwhile, a new law firm is set to come on record for Yaseen after Advocate Luzuko Guma said he could not represent him due to a possible conflict of interest.