Chevon Booysen|Published
Zurenah Smit, who stands accused of killing her husband, has applied for her bail to be reinstated.
This is because she remains unable to secure admission to the Valkenberg Mental Facility for an assessment of her fitness to stand trial, as her position on the waiting list has not changed.
Smit has remained number six on the waiting list since her previous court appearance.
At the Western Cape High Court on Friday, Smit’s Legal Aid lawyer Susan Kuun confirmed that they have filed notice of motion for an application to have her bail reinstated after it was previously revoked by the court.
The matter was postponed to April 23.
Judge Derek Wille previously made the decision to revoke Smit’s R10,000 bail after she said in court that her deceased husband was fetching her when she was feeling ill.
Smit had told the court that she was going to the doctor and said: “I’m going to the doctor. I’m waiting for my husband to fetch me.”
This utterance was made as her cross-examination was set to get under way, the trial being at an advanced stage.
State advocate Renee Uys indicated they would oppose the reinstatement of Smit’s bail pending the outcome of her 30-day medical observation report.
Uys averred that Smit is being held at the hospital section of Pollsmoor Prison, in line with the conditions set out for a person who is unable to follow court proceedings.
According to Uys, Smit is the only patient on the waiting list whose trial is already under way and is receiving prioritisation.
Kuun submitted that Smit has raised her concerns around the “dire circumstances” at Pollsmoor, where she is limited in her contact with family, insufficient clothes, and toiletries.
Judge Wille acknowledged Smit’s concerns, stating that these factors only arose after Smit had made the submission to the court that her deceased husband was coming to fetch her.
This submission was the original reason she had been sent for a psychiatric evaluation to determine her ability to follow court proceedings and her fitness to stand trial.
“When the report comes back and says she is fit or unfit to stand trial, at that stage only will the issue of bail be revisited,” said Judge Wille.
In her notice of motion for application to reinstate the bail, Smit submitted that she had said what she did as she was “dizzy”.
“That doesn’t make sense. If you were dizzy, it’s difficult to understand why she would make a statement that her husband is fetching her. That’s the reason why the bail was revoked,” said Judge Wille.
The matter was postponed for the hearing of the application to reinstate bail and for a report from the mental observation.
Smit was remanded in custody back to the hospital section at Pollsmoor Prison, while her co-accused Derek Sait will remain out on bail.
Smit is accused of having masterminded the murder of her farm owner husband, Stefan Smit.
The trial has been marred by a number of delays which included interlocutory applications for the judge’s recusal from the matter, and medically-related issues after she had fallen ill during trial proceedings.
Maribel Stoval
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