Botanist murder trial postponed again as another accused falls ill

Suspected food poisoning resulted in another postponement in the trial of the trio appearing for the double murder of two British/South African botanists. 

The trio — Sayfudeen Aslam Del Vecchio, 41, his wife Bibi Fatima Patel, 30, and Malawian Mussa Ahmed Jackson, 35 — appeared in the Durban high court on Friday for the continuation of their trial. 

They are charged with the kidnapping, robbery, theft and murder of Rodney Charles Saunders, 74, and his wife Dr Rachel May Saunders, 63, in February 2018 in the Eshowe area.

The couple, who were living in Cape Town, had dual UK and South African citizenship.

Attorney Patrick Mkumbuzi, Jackson’s legal representative, told the court his client advised him he was not well. Mkumbuzi said he consulted Jackson, who informed him he had diarrhoea and suspected food poisoning as the cause.

“As a result, he informed me that he can’t be in court,” said Mkumbuzi.