Cape Town - The defence teams in the trial of alleged underworld kingpin, Nafiz Modack, have been granted an extension by the Western Cape High Court to bring their acquittal applications in the new year.
The extension was granted by Judge Robert Henney on Tuesday amid contentions that a week was not enough time to prepare arguments due to the mammoth nature of the case.
Just over a week ago, the State closed its case after a 107 days of presenting evidence.
Modack, along with Zane Kilian, Ziyaad Poole, Moegamat Toufeek “Bubbles” Brown, Riyaat Gesant, Faghmeed Kelly, Mario Pietersen, Jacques Cronje, Petrus Visser, Janick Adonis, Amaal Jantjies, Ashley Tabisher, Yaseen Modack, Adiel Mukadam and Ricardo Morgan went on trial on January 29 this year.
The group was slapped with 124 charges centred on various incidents including the murder of Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) detective Charl Kinnear, the murder of Nicholaas Heerschap, and the botched hits on top criminal attorney William Booth.
The charges range from murder to money laundering as the State exposed the web allegedly woven by Modack and his co-conspirators behind various murder plots.
During the dramatic trial, State witnesses dropped several bombshells as they unearthed the links between Modack and the Terrible West Siders gang, as well as the extraordinary lengths the investigative team took to uncover the truth.
The courtroom has also been the backdrop of fights between the accused as alleged gang members could be seen exchanging fists as new evidence came to light.
During proceedings on Tuesday, Judge Henney informed the court that he had been approached by Modack's lawyer, Advocate Bash Sibda, saying more time was needed.
“Given the gravity of the charges against his client...I thought would be reasonable to grant him a further indulgence until the end of this term,” Judge Henney said.
He then acknowledged that Advocate Bruce Hendricks had come on record to represent Tabisher in his Section 174 application.
After three years in custody, Tabisher was finally released on an unopposed bail application after the State closed its case.
Speaking to Tabisher, Judge Henney said: “Thanks to Mrs [Inge] Jansen as well you have been released on bail. I am glad to hear that. Please remind me afterwards not to keep you in custody”.
The case was postponed to January 21.