One of the murder accused in the deadly Rosettenville shooting was reprimanded during court proceedings after he asked people in attendance at the Johannesburg High Court to sing happy birthday to him.
Andrew Thobolo, this week, celebrated his 68th birthday.
During proceedings, Thobolo, the oldest of the 10 accused, stood up to tell the judge that while he understood that he could not have cake, he wanted to know if the court could sing for him.
According to EWN, Judge William Karam wished him happy birthday but turned down his song request.
The accused appeared in court to establish where Legal Aid could represent four of the accused, Thobolo, Khulekani Nkosi, Phendulani Mvubu and Mike Ngwadi following their application.
They are charged with murder, possession of unlicensed firearms and conspiracy to commit robbery with aggravating circumstances.
In February last year, IOL reported that a shootout occurred in Rosettenville, south of Johannesburg. According to police, the suspects were from KwaZulu-Natal, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
At the time, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate said the heavily-armed gang were allegedly en-route to carry out a cash-in-transit heist when their plans were thwarted by SAPS.
The accused are set to reappear in court in April for pre-trial proceedings.
IOL