The murder trial of an elderly Ottery couple who were strangled to death in their home has been put on hold while cops search for their gardener who has gone missing.
Gcinile Gcobelahke was due to appear at the Western Cape High Court yesterday along with his co-accused Lwazi Ntsibantsiba but again failed to pitch.
The man who worked as a gardener for Rugaya and Riedewaan Addinall, both 82 years old, is the main suspect in the murder of the couple were found strangled to death in their Sandown Road home on 5 January 2019.
The duo are charged with two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated robbery and were released on R800 bail.
Both accused attended court proceedings earlier this year but when the trial resumed on Monday, Gcobelahke was nowhere to be found and not even his lawyer could reach him.
During proceedings yesterday, the state prosecutor told the court that police had gone to look for him at the address provided but they could not find him.
Acting Judge Bryan Hack ruled that an application into the forfeiture of his bail be heard on 21 June and the trial put on hold until there is an outcome.
According to the indictment, Gcobelahke had allegedly taken his friend to the house of the elederly couple and had planned to rob them.
It states that the duo tied ligatures around the necks of the couple and forced rat poison pellets into Rugaya’s mouth.
The cause of death was manual strangulation and the indictment further says they packed various valuables in the couple’s car to steal but the car did not start.