Update
GEORGE NEWS - The murder case of Cape Town underworld figure Mark Lifman returned to the George Magistrate's Court on Tuesday 15 April, where defence attorney Bulelani Bans questioned the progress of the State's investigation.
Bans, representing the two accused, Johannes Jacobs and Gert Bezuidenhout, suggested if there were to be further delays in finalising the investigation, the matter should temporarily be struck off the court roll until the State is ready to proceed.
The State maintained, however, that the investigation was 'at a satisfactory stage' and confirmed its readiness to move the matter to the regional court.
Bans warned against what he described as a request for a regional court date being 'strategically guised' as another postponement, claiming his information indicated that the investigation was not yet complete.
Magistrate Nasiba Khan acknowledged the accused's right to a speedy and fair trial, warning the State against unnecessary delays. She postponed the case to Tuesday 6 May, saying that if the State comes back with the investigation incomplete, "there will be a problem."
Jacobs and Bezuidenhout were denied bail in January by Magistrate André Aucamp, who ruled that their release would not be in the interest of justice and that no exceptional circumstances warranted bail.
The two men remain in custody following their arrest on 3 November, on the same day Lifman was gunned down in the parking area of the Garden Route Mall. They were apprehended later that day near Uniondale.
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