Update

GEORGE NEWS - The Thembalethu Regional Court postponed the second bail application for Johannes Jacobs and Gert Bezuidenhout, accused of murdering Mark Lifman in November 2024, on Friday 16 January. 

They will return on Wednesday 28 January, when their legal representatives will read their heads of argument into the record.

The court personnel were ready to continue with the hearing, but some legal representatives had only prepared verbal submissions and no written heads of argument. 

The magistrate gave them the choice of proceeding verbally, after which a transcription of the court recordings would be made available, or submitting written heads of argument to ensure their arguments are formally recorded. The attorneys opted for the written submissions, which will be read into the record on the postponement date.

The accused remain in solitary confinement at the Helderstroom Correctional Facility in Caledon.

With their health and detention conditions under the spotlight, Jacobs and Bezuidenhout once again approached the court in an attempt to secure bail after their first application in the George Magistrate’s Court, and the subsequent appeal in the High Court, had been denied last year.

Mark Lifman was shot dead outside the Garden Route Mall in November 2024. The accused were arrested later that day near Uniondale after a massive manhunt.

In an affidavit read out by his legal representative, Jacobs told the court he experiences mood swings, episodes of depression and anxiety. He testified that he has lost 25kg as a result of his detention in solitary confinement at Helderstroom.
Jacobs also claimed he was forced to use bleach to treat a wound after some correctional officers had allegedly refused to provide medical swabs. 

According to Jacobs, a nurse also indicated his blood pressure was high, a condition he claims he did not previously have. He strongly criticised the conditions under which he is being detained, arguing the State is treating them as if they had already been convicted.

Bezuidenhout claimed the food provided in prison is not nutritious. He said if released on bail, he would live with his parents, as he and his wife had sold their home following his arrest. 

He testified that he personally received about R161 000 from the sale of the property. 

An affidavit from his wife was read into the record, appealing to the court to release her husband on bail. The court was also informed that a waste management company in Cape Town has offered Bezuidenhout a position as an area manager should he be released.

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