Hilton Pretorius sustained a brain injury during the assault, allegedly at the hands of Wernich Botha. Picture: Edited by Se-Anne Rall
A man facing murder charges following a bloody fight at a parking lot in Klerksdorp in the North West is due to appear in court on Thursday.
A charge of attempted murder is expected to be changed to murder when Wernich Botha appears in the Klerksdorp Magistrate's Court.
This followed the death of Hilton Pretorius, who was allegedly beaten to a pulp in a parking lot on September 2.
Pretorius spent over two weeks in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp.
Botha also reportedly assaulted PW Roos.
He is facing the attempted murder of Pretorius and the assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to Roos.
Footage of the incident went viral on social media platforms, leading to Botha's arrest.
He appeared in the Klerksdorp Magistrate's Court and was released on R2,000 bail.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has denied that Botha fled the country to stand trial.
This followed media reports that Botha skipped the country days after Pretorius died.
The NPA said Botha works in Somalia and has gone back to work in that country.
"The State confirmed with his employer that he works in Somalia. We are aware that he has gone back to work," NPA spokesperson in North West division Henry Mamothame told IOL recently.
He said the court did not restrict Botha's movement when he was granted R2,000 bail.
He said it was premature to speculate that Botha would not appear in court next month.
"We know he works in Somalia... Call me when he does not honour his next court date."
He said the investigating officer took Botha's passport when he was arrested and returned it after he was granted bail.
"We know he works in Somalia. He was given his passport back for work purposes. His movement is not restricted."
IOL