No charges yet in cult case

The case against 15 alleged members of a notorious, now defunct Umtata cult church was postponed in the Umtata District Court on Monday as the charges they face were not yet properly formulated.

Their arrest followed the discovery of eight bodies buried in shallow graves in the church compound earlier this year.

The accused were informed that the State was still awaiting the director of public prosecutions' decision whether to charge them or not.

Earlier reports were that nearly 100 people, among them women and children, had gathered at the cult's compound "waiting for the arrival of Jesus".

The church surfaced around 1989 around the same period a cult with similar ideology surfaced in Uganda.

The case was postponed to December 30 for their next appearance.