EXPLAINER | Here’s why Katiso Molefe’s trial will only start in July 2027

The trial of murder-accused Katiso “KT” Molefe has been postponed to July 2027 after the Johannesburg high court heard it cannot run at the same time as another trial involving two of the accused.

Molefe and his co-accused — Michael Pule Tau, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Musa Kekana — face up to 35 charges that include the murders of premeditated of DJ Sumbody and Armand Swart.

Mabusela and Kekana are currently before the high court where they are co-accused in the case of alleged crime cartel member Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala.

Elize le Roux, the prosecutor in Molefe’s case, told the court on Monday that not only are Mabusela and Kekana in the Matlala case but Michael Hellens, Molefe’s lawyer, is also involved in Matlala’s case. That is making it impractical for the two trials to proceed simultaneously, she said.

The trial against Katiso “KT” Molefe, Michael Pule Tau, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Musa Kekana is expected to start in the Johannesburg high court on Monday.Molefe, Tau, Mabusela and Kekana face 35 charges, including the November 2022 murder of Oupa John Sefoka, known as DJ… pic.twitter.com/Oe4iJZu5ig— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) October 26, 2026

Matlala’s matter is expected to continue for the remainder of the current term and will resume in the first term of next year, she said.

“We are unfortunately proceeding at a glacial pace there,” Le Roux said.

She said the state’s aim is to conclude the other trial by the end of the second term of next year, allowing this matter to begin on July 19 2027.

Hellens confirmed that the defence did not oppose the postponement. “We were given really early notice of this arrangement. We’ve all cleared our diaries and taken other work, and we agreed to the postponement,” he said.

Judge Thifhelimbilu Phanuel Mudau said the postponement should not become another prolonged legal process. He questioned why the matter was being set down for only one term and insisted that the parties plan for a continuous trial.

“A running trial means exactly that. In other words, you start to begin. If it means three days running, one day after the other, that is how it should be. Otherwise you’ll be running a trial for the next five years,” Mudau said.

Hellens also raised a request to amend Molefe’s bail conditions. Under the existing conditions, Molefe is required to report to a local police station three times a week, which Hellen said makes it difficult for him to travel for business purposes.

“If you have to report three times a week, you’ve got no time to go anywhere before you’ve got to be back to report at the local police station,” he said.

“We have reached an arrangement that the bail conditions remain exactly the same, save that with five working days’ notice to the South African Police Service and the state he is entitled to tell the state where in South Africa he is going and which police station he will be reporting to.”

Although the state did not oppose the amendment, Mudau said the court needs to set out the conditions clearly in an order to avoid any uncertainty. “The court has to be concerned about the conditions of bail — to what extent have they been relaxed or changed — because there’s an implication in case there’s a violation,” the judge said.

He ruled that Molefe must inform the state five working days in advance of where he intends to travel and the state will indicate the police station at which he must report.