Setshwantsho's diabetes diagnosis doesn't convince court she should be granted bail

JOHANNESBURG - A diabetes diagnosis has failed to convince the Mmabatho Magistrates Court that Segomotsi Setshwantsho is eligible for bail for the duration of her trial.

Setshwantsho was denied bail on Friday with the magistrate ruling that she failed to present exceptional circumstances for her release.

The 49-year-old is accused of giving her niece a poisoned sandwich which resulted in her death and scored her a R3 million life insurance payout.

She is also being investigated for the murders of her husband, son and two daughters.

One of Setshwantsho’s main arguments for bail was that the prison was not able to give her the insulin that she desperately needed for her diabetes but was relying on tablets.

Her lawyers also argued that when insulin was made available, it could not be kept at the correct temperature and as a result, her health was deteriorating.

But Judge Duane Spaniel was not convinced.

"This court is of the opinion that when the accused was arrested, seeing that she is insulin dependent, was she in possession of her medication, that does not seem to be the case."

The State has assured the court that Setshwatsho is allowed to keep her insulin in a fridge in her prison cell and will do so for the duration of her trial.