Cape Town – Former advocate Malesela Teffo reportedly continued to cause frustration in court by refusing to cooperate with the police on Wednesday.
Despite being scheduled for his fourth appearance, he adamantly refused to enter the courtroom, Times Live reported.
After a 20-minute break, he finally entered, dressed in an olive green jacket with a slightly grown beard and hair.
However, even after fifteen days of his arrest, Teffo has not provided his fingerprints to the police, hindering proper charges against him. He has been trying to derail court proceedings with various reasons, perplexing the state, the report said.
Teffo’s new attorney Eddy Maloba agreed to have his fingerprints taken, but Teffo later refused the officers sent to do so.
Teffo remains in custody, no bail has been fixed. #MaleselaTeffo has been ordered by the court to provide his fingerprints. A charge of contempt of court has been added over his previous refusal to cooperate. pic.twitter.com/OFZjrhsli5
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) August 16, 2023
When asked about this refusal, Teffo sought to take the stand to explain but was denied by the magistrate. He also raised concerns about the presence of certain individuals in the prosecutor’s side and asked for the removal of the investigating officer due to discomfort. Both of these requests were denied.
Teffo, who has been in custody since his arrest on 1 August, accused the court of bias and requested the magistrate to recuse herself, which was again denied.
According to News24, once court was back in session, Teffo was brought out from the holding cells and stood in the dock, where he fiddled with his cellphone while his attorney addressed the court.
Maloba said his instructions were to submit to the court that Teffo had not yet been charged with any crime.
He claimed that his case was supported by two detectives who admitted being instructed to charge him. Maloba argues that this suggested Teffo’s presence in court was unlawful.
The court postponed the case to September 6 to gather witness statements and obtain Teffo’s fingerprints.
He faces charges including assault, theft, malicious damage to property, possession of stolen property, and contempt of court, relating to an incident where he allegedly broke into an office, assaulted a guard, and stole a door handle.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
