Pitch Black Afro, real name Thulani Ngcobo, has had his bail hearing in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court postponed to February 7 after his defence team failed to present sufficient evidence to Magistrate Piet du Plessis.

The rapper is facing charges of premeditated murder and defeating the ends of justice after his wife Catherine "Trisha" Modusane died at a Johannesburg bed and breakfast establishment on December 31, 2018.

The hearing was originally scheduled for Wednesday, January 30, but was postponed to Thursday morning after prosecutor Mzamo Mathe asked for a two-hour adjournment to go through an affidavit filed by Ngcobo's lawyer, Meshack Maluleke, ahead of the bail application.

Ngcobo, with his hair in cornrows and wearing a black jacket, looked more reserved than at previous hearings where he would wave to his mother before being seated. This time the rapper didn't make eye contact with her.

At the start of the proceedings, Mathe asked that images of the deceased not be published as they are graphic and will cause emotional distress to the family.

Evidence

He also asked that the prosecution present evidence in private as it might jeopardise the case of the accused if this evidence is made public.

Ngcobo's defence team wasn't against the motion and the courtroom was cleared for the presentation of evidence.

When the public returned the defence argued that the prosecution didn't have enough evidence that the murder was premeditated as premeditation requires planning. They also put forward that the deceased may have sustained her injuries before returning to the B&B and that Ngcobo hadn't noticed his wife's injuries as he was intoxicated.

Magistrate Piet Du Plessis said the post-mortem indicates that the cause of death was unnatural and said that if the defence is arguing that his suspect didn't commit the crime then they should present evidence that outweighs the evidence of the prosecution to persuade the court to acquit their client.

Du Plessis then postponed the case to February 7.

The magistrate also denied an application by photographers who wanted to take photographs of Ngcobo. Should anyone be found taking pictures, he said, they would be held in contempt of court.

Ngcobo's family refused to speak to the media after the proceedings.