Lifman murder: fake number plates, wigs and a missing firearm

Update

GEORGE NEWS AND VIDEO - Days before Cape Town underworld figure Mark Lifman was gunned down at the Garden Route Mall, one of the murder accused, Gert 'Johnny' Bezuidenhout (37) applied for three firearm permits through Professional Protection Alternatives (PPA), the company he was contracting for at that stage. The permits were valid from 29 October to 3 November, and would've allowed him to possess rifles.

However, when Bezuidenhout and his co-accused, Johannes 'Jakes' Jacobs (53), were arrested in Uniondale hours after Lifman's assassination, police only found two magazines and 9mm bullets, with no rifles.

The murder weapon has not yet been found and police recently raided PPA's offices in Cape Town, seizing firearms that matched the permits. The weapons and the bullets found on the murder scene on Sunday 3 November, have been sent for ballistics testing.

This was some of the evidence heard before bail for the two accused was denied in the George Magistrate's Court last week, Thursday 16 and Friday 17 January.

Magistrate André Aucamp ruled on Friday that the accused failed to present extraordinary circumstances for them to be released on bail. With a schedule six bail application, like the one they are facing on a charge of premeditated murder, the onus lies on the applicant(s) to convince court that the state's case will fail at trial. This did not happen in this case.

Aucamp also said that the State had a strong prima facie case against the accused and that their circumstances were not unlike ordinary people who have property, jobs and family.

According to him, the defense also did not present evidence before court that could refute the merits of the state's case.

During the bail application, advocate Mike Hellens SC, representing the accused, attempted to discredit the state's case, questioning the reliability of the CCTV footage given as evidence. Wigs, fake number plates and a bullet hole in the left passenger window, that was shot from the inside, were also found in the white VW Polo in which the accused were arrested near Uniondale.

Hellens also questioned the absence of evidence such as gunshot residue that should've been there if the shots were fired from inside the vehicle that the accused were arrested in.

Protection order

On Friday morning, Jacobs was served with a protection order. Jacobs, who co-owns a farm in Hoedspruit with his ex-wife, said he would live on the farm if he was granted bail. However, Jacobs' estranged wife apparently now lives on the farm with her boyfriend and allegedly fears Jacobs. He refused to sign the protection order.

After his arrest, Bezuidenhout sold his house in Cape Town as, according to his affidavit, he could not pay the bond while in custody. The case has been postponed to 20 February as the state is still awaiting ballistics reports and cell phone records.

Car guard's evidence

A car guard, who said he saw the murder, told police he heard Lifman scream "No!" moments before he was shot. Lifman reportdly received a call from an unknown person about a meeting while he was in the mall. The two accused allegedly shot Lifman five times from a white VW Polo as he was walking to his blue Ford Raptor bakkie in the parking lot. After the shooting a Polo can be seen speeding away from the scene, almost causing a collision with another vehicle entering the parking lot.

The state said the vehicle had fake number plates, of which one set was registered to a homeless man and another to an elderly couple from Stellenbosch.

According to the state, Jacobs was driving the vehicle with Bezuidenhout as his passenger at the time of their arrest. It is also alleged that they were captured on CCTV footage at a farm outside George, changing the licence plates of the VW Polo they were using and attempting to 'patch up' the broken window with duct tape.

Jacobs was reportedly behind the wheel again when they left the farm in Geelhoutboom.

Watch a video of their bail application below: