A trial date for one of South Africa's most notorious criminals, Annanias Mathe, will be set in December when he appears in court again, SABC news reported on Thursday.

Mathe appeared briefly in the Johannesburg High court on Thursday but the matter was postponed until 4 December as the judge was busy with another case.

Mathe faces 77 charges including rape, attempted murder, cruelty to animals and housebreaking.

The cases against him were reported in Rustenburg and Lichtenburg in North West, Thabazimbi in Limpopo, and several other locations in Gauteng.

The 31-year-old made headlines in November 2006 when he broke out of Pretoria's C-Max prison which is regarded as the most secure in the country. He was re-arrested several days later.

On 7 June this year, Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour interviewed Mathe after he had again attempted to escape from the Pretoria prison.

Balfour visited the prison to get information about the second attempt.

Mathe's trial is expected to last for five months and more than 100 witnesses will testify against him.

Sapa