SOUTH AFRICA:An Irish priest who suffered near-fatal gunshot wounds in a robbery in South Africa earlier this year faced his alleged assailants for the first time yesterday.
Fr Kieran Creagh, a Belfast-born Passionist who works with victims of HIV/Aids in Atteridgeville, a township near Pretoria, appeared in court to give evidence in the trial of two men charged with his attempted murder.
The case was adjourned after a short hearing when the defendants, Godfrey Phatlane and Edward Lesef, unexpectedly dismissed their state-appointed legal representation in favour of a new advocate.
Magistrate Allan Cowen granted a request from the defendants for an adjournment to allow them to brief their counsel but said he would demand written proof that legal fees would be covered.
The court also heard that one of the state's witnesses had failed to appear for the hearing.
The case was adjourned to December 10th.
Speaking outside the court, Fr Creagh said he had been "hugely disappointed" by the adjournment, and was also concerned about the state witness's failure to appear.
"If the case collapses I fear I will have to leave the country," he said.
The priest, who returned to South Africa from Ireland earlier this month to prepare for the trial, had expressed a desire to meet the defendants before the hearing but the prosecution forbade this. Fr Creagh was shot three times by a gang of armed raiders who broke into Leratong hospice on February 28th.