The State requested an arrest warrant for one of the co-accused of alleged underworld figure Jerome Booysen, who is on trial for the murder of ‘Steroid King’ Brian Wainstein.

This follows an earlier stern warning from Western Cape High Court judge Vincent Saldanha – that late-coming and absenteeism could result in the accused having their bail revoked.

Currently, a trial-within-a trial is underway to determine whether intercepted phone calls between Booysen and other alleged underworld figures are admissible in the main trial. Wainstein was shot and killed in his Constantia home in August 2017.

The day started with the prosecution denouncing the late coming or non-arrival of some of the witnesses. Four of the eleven were either sick or their whereabouts were unknown to their legal representatives.

State Prosecutor Nathan Adriaanse raised his concern. “We’ve had a punctuality problem. Mr Parries is late as well as accused. Mr Farquharson is still sick; Mr Maarman is not here. To start at this time is unacceptable. I’m going to start asking for warrants for the accused who are not here. We might even reconsider whether bail to be revoked.”

One of the Counsels explained that he was late due to a traffic gridlock and flooding. This is after heavy overnight rains in Cape Town and into the morning.
The court sternly reminded the accused that they must be on time, as late coming impacts the finalisation of the proceedings.

The state then continued to lead evidence from an investigator on the transcripts of intercepted phone calls. Allegedly, the phone calls were between Jerome Booysen, including the now-deceased Mark Lifman and others, which it believes are relevant in the main trial.

It was after lunch that the state requested an arrest warrant for accused seven, Ricardo Maarman. His counsel indicated that he could not reach him by telephone to ascertain his whereabouts.

Judge Vincent Saldanha agreed to the request for an arrest warrant. “I’m going to authorise a warrant for execution held over till tomorrow. It’s unacceptable that he is not here in court.”

The matter is expected to continue on Wednesday.