NPA rejects guilty plea from Anene Booysen murder accused

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 The National Prosecuting Authority says the State rejected an accused's guilty plea for the rape of slain Bredasdorp teenager Anene Booysen because it would have implied a lesser sentence.

NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila says they asked 21 year-old Johannes Kana to plead to Booysen's rape and murder on Monday to limit the issues in dispute at a later stage.

Kana pleaded guilty to the rape but not to the murder.

Ntabazalila says they rejected the guilty plea in respect of the rape charge as it did not correspond with the evidence available to the State.

The plea, as it stands, would only warrant a minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and not the circumstances as contained in the docket, which warrants a minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

The case was postponed until the 9th of July for provincial public prosecutions director Rodney de Kock to decide whether the trial should be held in the regional court or the Western Cape High Court.