The man accused of the murder of two-year-old Oyingcwele Zokufa is to remain behind bars after he decided not to apply for bail, it emerged in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
"He consulted with me this morning and he indicated to me that at this stage he would not like to apply for bail, your worship," Mzimhle Jikwana's Legal Aid attorney, Kyle Jason, said.
In court on Wednesday, prosecutor Nicky Konisi asked for a lengthy postponement, saying that a post mortem report, aerial photographs, cellphone records and three additional witness statements were still outstanding.
Magistrate Goolam Bawa postponed the case to January 19, next year.
Jikwana faces charges of murder and abduction.
Zokufa's body was found in a shallow grave in the bushes on the side of the N2, near Philippi in Cape Town on August 30, after he went missing four days earlier.
On Wednesday, family members, including the toddler's mother Siphesihle Zokufa, were present in the packed courtroom.
Siphesihle Zokufa, mother of murdered two-year-old Oyingcwele Zokufa. (Jenni Evans, News24)
"He is not going to get bail," said the grieving woman confidently, ahead of the case.
Economic Freedom Fighters regional organiser Gift Mandyoli said they collected 230 signatures from residents of Philippi, Crossroads and the Madikizela informal settlement and handed it to the court to persuade the magistrate to refuse bail.
Standing with Mandyoli was Wendy Mkatshane, aunt and godmother of the child, who said: "We want to make sure justice is served."
Women and children's organisation Ilitha Labantu also submitted a letter asking that the accused not be released on bail.
"As a community and we, as an organisation, feel that this is a perpetrator that preys on innocent children and he therefore does not deserve to be part of any community," read the letter, which social worker Zoliswa Mbekwa signed.