Abathembu King petitions for a retrial
Abathembu King, Buye-lekhaya Dalinyebo, will still have to present himself to the Mtatha prison today in spite of an eleventh hour bid to keep him out of jail.
The Department of Justice has confirmed receiving a petition, requesting the Minister to reopen the case.
King Dalindyebo is due to start serving a 12-year jail sentence today, after his final appeal to the Constitutional Court failed earlier this month.
Justice Ministry spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga, on the latest developments.
“Today we received a petition from a Yasmin Omar, who claims to be an attorney representing the King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo.
''The petition is addressed to the Minister for reopening of the trial, however the bail condition still applies and he is therefore expected to hand himself over to the head of Mthatha Maximum Correctional Centre today,'' he said.
King Dalinyebo was found guilty in 2013 for crimes committed against his subjects in 1995 and 1996.
These included arson, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice.
Mhaga says the King is now claiming that customary law had been ignored during the trial and that the judge had continued with the case despite the death of an assessor.
(File photo: Gallo Images)