A 24-year-old man accused of murdering Irish charity worker John Curran wants to apply for bail, even though the Department of Home Affairs has had no record of him, the Cape Town Magistrate's Court heard on Monday.

Mitspa Onyoka, 24, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, appeared in court after a postponement for further bail information.

Prosecutor Leon Snyman said the investigating officer had gone to the address provided by Onyoka to verify it, but had found out that the people living there did not want him staying there anymore.

He also said that the home affairs department had submitted a statement indicating that it had no record of the accused after 2015.

"He is, therefore, illegal in the country," Snyman said.

Onyoka remained adamant that he wanted bail and the court postponed the matter until January 23 for a bail application.

He was arrested in Voortrekker Road and charged with murder last month after detectives followed up on several leads.

Curran, 60, was murdered at a high security complex in Buitengracht Street, Cape Town.

The charity worker was found in a pool of blood and had open wounds on his head and face, police said at the time.

He had recently finished his tenure as a director of education for Mellon Educate in South Africa.

The charity said in a statement that Curran had been killed during a robbery.

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