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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter

THE trial of Theo Bronkhorst, the professional hunter who assisted in the killing of Cecil the Lion, has been postponed to September 28 after the defence lawyers applied for a delay.

Defence lawyer, Givemore Muvhiringi, told Hwange magistrate, Lindiwe Maphosa, that advocate Perpetual Dube, who was hired to assist the defence, failed to turn up as he was handling cases at the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court.

“I have briefed the advocate and he said he is not available until 28 September,” Muvhiringi told the court.

Magistrate Maphosa ordered the court to reconvene on September 28 for Bronkhorst’s trial.

The professional hunter, who runs a safari company and is from Bulawayo, is facing a charge of failing to prevent an illegal hunt.

Bronkhorst denies any wrongdoing over the death of Cecil the Lion in early July when Walter Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota in the US, paid $55,000 to shoot the lion with a bow and arrow.

The hunt provoked worldwide outrage when it emerged that Cecil was a well-known attraction among tourists who visit Hwange National Park. The big cat was wearing a tracking collar as it was part of an Oxford University research project.

More to follow