The matter was postponed on several occasions after Van Rooyen said he was ill and needed to see a doctor. His illness was not disclosed in court.
Van Rooyen and Tawfeeq Ebrahim, 26, is accused of murdering Zarah last year.
Zarah was last seen by Rachelle van Rooyen, Renaldo’s mom, when the trio arrived at his house in Kuils River on 15 March.
On Thursday, Van Rooyen’s father, Attie van Rooyen, took the stand.
Attie, a retired cop, said he met Tawfeeq for the first time on Saturday 12 March.
And as he was leaving his home on 15 March, he waved to Zarah and Renaldo, who was in a silver BMW Z3, and Tawfeeq, who was driving ‘a maroon-coloured car’.
The BMW belonged to Zarah’s now deceased boyfriend Mark Kleinsmith.
He says Zarah and Renaldo were friends.
“After that morning, I saw Renaldo again on Wednesday and the Friday he drove off with the police officer to give his statement. A warrant officer came around later to tell us our garage was officially a crime scene,” said Attie.
Zarah’s sister Vivi-Anne says it’s hard to stay strong as the final hours of her sister were being revealed.
“The murder of a loved one is something one never wants to experience,” she said.