Frederiksen faces 59 charges, including assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, possession of unregistered medicine, distribution and possession of child pornography, conspiracy to murder, and bigamy. He also faces charges relating to possession of illegal firearms.

The former gun shop owner was arrested in September 2015 after police found 21 clitorises in a freezer at his home.

Some charges against him relate to the murder of his wife, 28-year-old Anna Matseliso Molise.

She was shot four times outside her house in Maseru, Lesotho, on October 20, 2015.

She would have been a key State witness in the case against her husband, the Hawks said at the time.

The Hawks raided Frederiksen's gun shop in Bloemfontein in May 2016 and seized more than 1 600 firearms.

On Monday, Free State Judge Cagney Musi received documents from Frederiksen’s former attorney Howard Woolf confirming that he was no longer involved with the case.

Frederiksen told the hearing he had no other counsel lined up to represent him.

The court adjourned for about 10 minutes to try and confirm an alleged meeting that was set up for this week with new counsel. However, it turned out that there was no appointment and no lawyer that would see Frederiksen this week.

Musi again told Frederiksen that he had to make a decision about who will represent him in court.

Frederiksen has been battling to secure funds to pay for a private attorney since 2016. He has also refused legal aid.

If he chooses again to apply for legal aid, he will have to follow an appeal process.

Musi told Frederiksen that various people wanted closure on the matters before the court and wanted to continue with their lives.

The judge gave him three more weeks to settle his affairs. He should either have his own private counsel in court next time, or he would have to apply for legal aid again.

Musi postponed the pre-trial hearing to April 18.

- News24.com