Story By: James King, Sub-Editor: Darko Manevski, Agency: Clipzilla

A trial of three alleged Islamic State of Iraq terrorists accused of killing two elderly British botanists has been set for next year with the trio represented by one of the country’s best and most expensive lawyers.

The three are accused of kidnapping and murdering British-born botanists Rod and Rachel Saunders in February 2018.

The couple lived in Cape Town and the three were arrested after the elderly pair vanished while on a tour around northern KwaZulu-Natal in search of rare plants and seeds.

Police claim that Sayfudeen Aslam Del Vecchio was the ringleader and work together with his wife Fatima Patel and their Malawian boarder, Ahmad “Bazooka” Mussa to carry out the murders.

The three have already appeared in the Durban court and a trial is now expected to take place not before next year after several delays including a suspected plot to free them that resulted in the 3 being moved to a maximum security prison in Kokstad.

It has been reported that the couple were targeted in order to spread the terrorist organisation’s message of fear.

Eyebrows were raised when it was revealed there were not on legal aid, and were in fact being defended by famous local lawyer Jimmy Howse, although it is unclear who is paying his law firms hefty fee.

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