Officials from the Department of Correctional Services will be called to the Western Cape High Court to appear before Judge Robert Henney amid a spat over why an alleged gang boss affiliated with Nafiz Modack was not brought to court on Wednesday.
Dramatic scenes played out at the underworld trial as Henney warned he would not play around with accused who refused to attend trials, or officials who refused to bring them.
This comes amid two conflicting reports about the absence of Moegamat Toufeek ‘Bubbles’ Brown.
The alleged leader of the Terrible West Siders accused of helping Modack plot the assassination of lawyer William Booth and a Hawks detective had also failed to attend court on Tuesday.
A medical certificate was presented to Judge Henney stating Brown but the nature of his illness was not divulged.
Henney delayed the trial so that Brown could consult with his lawyer, Advocate Nazeer Parkar, to establish if the court could continue in his absence.
Brown agreed, as the evidence being led by the Hawks investigators did not implicate him.
However on Wednesday proceedings were again delayed when Brown’s absence was noted but no reason was given.
Henney demanded police officers return to Pollsmoor to collect him and several hours later Brown was escorted into the courtroom.
State prosecutor Advocate Greg Wolmarans told the court that DCS official Rudi Du Plooy informed them that Brown simply refused to attend the trial.
He said officials insisted Brown see a doctor, but the medic found nothing wrong with him and refused to issue a medical note.
Parkar claimed this was a blatant lie and said his client had ‘blacked out’ in the mang and was treated for high blood pressure and hypertension and put on bed rest. He claimed DCS officials never fetched his client either for court or the hospital on Tuesday.
Henney then decided Du Plooy would be brought to court to address Brown’s allegations: “If he refused then he would be in contempt of court and I will deal with him. I am not taking sides until I get the full picture.”