The bail application of three foreign nationals in custody for a month for allegedly kidnapping a nine-year-old East London girl has been postponed to later in March.
The bail application was set for Tuesday but one of the attorneys, Mzekelo Mhlauli, said he needed time to consult with his client.
His client, a Pakistani national and the youngest among the accused, was previously represented by Shannon Naidoo, from Bate Chubb and Dickson Attorneys, who, in February, also asked for time to consult the accused.
The trio — Pakistan, Mozambique and Zimbabwe nationals, aged between 20 and 67 — appeared briefly in the East London magistrate’s court facing charges including trafficking, kidnapping, extortion and contravention of the Immigration Act.
The state is opposing their release on bail.
That they were allegedly in the country illegally was among the reasons their bail was opposed, provincial Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana said outside court.
They have been in custody since February 5 after they were nabbed by a multidisciplinary law enforcement team.
The three men are accused of kidnapping the girl from Buffalo Flats while she was on her way home from school.
The girl was dropped off near a Mdantsane police station at about 3am on February 12 after she was snatched on February 4.
The state alleges they demanded a R5m ransom from the girl’s father for her safe return.
Mhlakuvana said: “We are opposing the bail because we believe we have a very strong case against the accused.
“The matter is under investigation and we believe more arrests [are] imminent.
“The delays that we have observed are not on our side. We are ready for any day to oppose bail.”
Asked if the accused had links to other kidnappings, Mhlakuvana said: “We don’t want to talk about the merits of the actual bail.
“There’s bail information that we have obtained and we will present it in court.”
An order was made in court in February to not reveal the identities of the accused.
“We still believe that there are more suspects at large ... revealing their identities will make the others maybe skip the country or evade arrest. We are not sure [of the outstanding suspects’ roles].”
The men will be back in the dock on March 25 and 26.
Meanwhile, a woman who allegedly faked her own kidnapping is due in court on Friday.
Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Avele Fumba said the woman was arrested on January 28 by the East London-based kidnapping task team of the Hawks for “orchestrating her own kidnapping alongside a male accomplice”.
“Their deliberate intentions were allegedly to extort money from her family and boyfriend.
“The case began on October 13 2024, when a distressed complainant reported that his girlfriend had been kidnapped.
“He allegedly received alarming images including video clips of her tied up, with her mouth sealed shut with tape. Soon after, a ransom demand followed.
“The reports indicate that the complainant reached out to the victim’s sister, she confirmed receiving the same disturbing message from the same number.
“The matter was escalated to the Hawks for a thorough probe.
“The kidnapping task team swiftly launched a disruptive operation, and the operation exposed a shocking twist. The so-called victim was allegedly in on the scheme.
“Further investigations revealed that the victim had allegedly staged the entire kidnapping and apparently conspired with her accomplice to extract ransom money from her loved ones, with plans to split the funds,” Fumba said.
The woman made her first court appearance on January 30.
Daily Dispatch
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