Prosecutors allege tactical delay in Zurenah Smit's high-stakes trial
Murder accused Zurenah Smit enters the Western Cape High Court with a crutch on Thursday, shortly before retching could be heard from the dock. This followed her discharge from Victoria Hospital, where doctors had declared her medically fit to stand trial, contradicting a subsequent sick note claiming hypertension.
Image: Chevon Booysen
Murder accused Zurenah Smit's courtroom drama escalated yon Thursday when medical evidence directly contradicted her claims of illness.
Prosecutors accused her of attempting a "tactical delay" in her high-stakes trial. Just hours after being discharged from Victoria Hospital and deemed medically fit to stand trial, Smit obtained a sick note from a different general practitioner stating she had hypertension—a condition her hospital doctor confirmed was absent during her three-day medical observation.
As submitted by State prosecutor Renee Uys, this was yet another “tactical move to unreasonably delay” the matter in which Smit and her co-accused, Derek Sait, were to commence with the defence case at the Western Cape High Court.
The High Court has now ordered the GP to testify.
On Monday, the court ordered that the attending doctor from Victoria Hospital must testify regarding her medical condition.
As court proceedings were yet to get under way yesterday, Smit entered court with a crutch. Moments after the court went in session, retching could be heard from the dock where she sat.
At a previous court sitting in November last year, moments after the State prosecutor started reading out the charges against her and Sait, Smit collapsed in the dock and had to be wheeled away by emergency services.
Murder accused Zurenah Smit consults with her legal representative at the Western Cape High Court on Thursday, where medical evidence contradicted her claims of illness.
Image: Chevon Booysen
On Thursday, Dr Shakeel Hoosain, the physician and specialist in internal medicine who attended to Smit at Victoria Hospital in Wynberg, submitted to the court that he had examined and monitored her from November 16 until the 19th. She was discharged on November 19 at 11.30am.
According to Dr Hoosain’s testimony, she was discharged and was deemed medically fit.
However, the sick certificate which the defence submitted to the court yesterday, after she attended a general practitioner on Wednesday and had been discharged from a three-day hospital stay, noted that Smit had hypertension.
Zurenah Smit confers with her legal counsel during proceedings at the Western Cape High Court. Moments earlier, medical testimony revealed contradictions between her hospital discharge report and a GP's sick note
Image: Chevon Booysen
However, after a Cape Triage Score (CTS), which categorises patients into levels of urgency - red, orange, yellow, green, and blue - Smit’s vital signs were categorised as “green” with a slightly heightened systolic blood pressure reading.
Dr Hoosain further submitted that during her hospital examination, which included a CT scan, her blood pressure was monitored, and her readings did not raise concern.
However, in contrast to the doctor’s finding, the Belhar-located general practitioner (GP), whom Smit allegedly visited after being discharged from the hospital, booked her off from November 19 until the 28th due to hypertension.
Dr Hoosain, after being questioned by the court about whether Smit had been discharged with any medication, confirmed that medication was prescribed, but none of it was for hypertension.
Judge Derek Wille has issued an order that the GP must testify at court on Monday regarding the diagnosis he had made.
Smit and Sait’s bail conditions were extended to Monday, November 24, where the matter will resume.
After drugging Stefan Smit with sleeping tablets, he was shot and killed in what was supposed to be portrayed as a farm robbery/murder.
Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel.
Cape Argus