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A man who was initially charged with the assault of two men in a Klerksdorp shopping centre parking lot is now facing charges of murder and attempted murder.
The National Prosecuting Authority said 33-year-old Wernich Botha, was formally charged on Thursday in relation to the incident early in September.
NPA spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, said the court postponed the case against him to 15 January 2024, for further investigations.
“Botha was initially charged with attempted murder, however, the state has altered the charge to murder, following the death of Hilton Pretorius (32), in the hospital, after he was allegedly assaulted by Botha,” he said.
Mamothame said the charge of assault with intention to do grievous bodily harm, related to the second victim, was also altered to attempted murder after the state reviewed the injuries sustained by 44-year-old businessman PW Roos.
“His charges have now been changed to a schedule five offence, however, the court has retained his bail status of R2000 and ordered him not to interfere with the state’s witnesses”.
The North West Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Sello Kwena and the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr Rachel Makhari, “called for calm, request that the state be afforded the time and space to conduct its investigations in an endeavour to bring the alleged perpetrator to book.”
