Cape Town - Convicted wife killer Jason Rohde must hand himself over to prison authorities within 48 hours after his bid to extend his bail was refused in the Western Cape High Court.
Acting Judge Nolundi Nyati said: “I am not at all persuaded that the instructs of justice permit that the applicant be released.”
Rohde’s application for extension of bail was dismissed.
Rohde has been ordered to report to Plettenberg Bay police station within 48 hours of the order. This means he will have to be at Plettenberg Bay police station on Saturday, where he will be taken into custody.
Rohde was convicted in the Western Cape High Court for the murder of his wife, Susan Rohde, and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment. However, he was granted leave to appeal and the case was brought before the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
The SCA dismissed Rohde’s appeal of his conviction but upheld his appeal against his sentence.
Consequently Rohde was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on the first count of murder and three years’ imprisonment on the second count for tampering with evidence and covering up the murder to look like a suicide. These sentences will run concurrently.
Rohde has applied for leave to appeal the judgment by the SCA with the Constitutional Court. In his founding affidavit Rohde has stated that his appeal was based on his “right to a fair trial”.
He said his trial had so many “irregularities” that it was unfair. He also claims his defence was irregularly curbed, stating that the case should be heard anew before a different judge.
Rohde said he believed the SCA “erred” in the way it dealt with the irregularities of his trial.
The State has opposed his application, stating there was no occurrence of an unfair trial.
It said Rohde was seeking to appeal the matter based solely on facts, whereas the matter had already been deliberated by the SCA and any credibility findings already dealt with.
It also stated “there is no irregularity and/or unfairness found herein”.
“The trial court did not curb the presentation of the defence in a manner that may have rendered the trial unfair”, therefore there is no basis for the case to be heard anew by a different judge.
The body of Susan Rohde was found on the morning of July 24, 2016, in the bathroom of their suite at the Spier hotel in Stellenbosch.
Rohde was found guilty of rearranging the crime scene in an attempt to represent that the deceased had committed suicide.
Rohde was represented by Advocate William King, while Advocate Louis van Niekerk represented the State.