The trial of six men accused of killing 18 people in Ngobozana village has been postponed by the Mthatha High Court, sitting in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape.

This is due to the absence of the lawyer for accused number three.

The accused face a total of 29 charges, including 19 murder charges for the Lusikisiki massacre and another for the murder of the KwaBhaca politician, Mncedisi Gijana.

They also face additional charges of robbery, kidnapping, possession of unlicensed firearms and conspiracy to murder.

On Tuesday, accused number one, 46-year-old Mzukisi Ndamase, who is conducting his own defence, told the court he has been exposed to inhumane conditions at the Kokstad Correctional Centre.

Ndamase was moved from Wellington Correctional Centre in Mthatha to the KwaZulu-Natal-based maximum security Centre following the Ngobozana massacre.

He says he has been washing with cold water and eating cold food.

The accused says his safety has also been compromised after he was moved to another section of the prison, which he says is headed by a person from Ngobozana in Lusikisiki.