With continuation of the trial less than a month away, one of the men accused of kidnapping Bay biokineticist Riana Pretorius seemingly had a change of heart and opted to throw in the towel on his fresh bid for bail.
Xolani Kafile, 42, had approached the Gqeberha magistrate’s court to bring a second bail application based on new facts.
However, as his case was about to be called on Thursday morning, Kafile did an about-turn and said he would no longer proceed with the application.
It seems his decision was based on realising that the continuation of the trial in which he is accused alongside Xolisile Rawutini, 42, of kidnapping Pretorius, was less than a month away.
When state advocate Benedict Wilson called the case and indicated to the court that the state was ready to proceed with the bail application, Kafile’s attorney, Wayne Mac Gear, said his client had changed his mind.
He said they would be abandoning the bail application as his client was due back in court on June 23, when the trial is set down to continue for a week.
He also indicated he needed to gather more information to assist with the bail application based on new facts, but did not disclose the basis of the application or what the new facts might entail.
Mac Gear said if the trial was not finalised in June, he would consult his client and they would consider bringing a new application for bail at a later stage.
Kafile and Rawutini are accused of abducting Pretorius, 27, in March 2023 from outside her Newton Park workplace.
The biokineticist had just arrived at work when a Toyota Corolla drove into the parking area and masked men jumped out.
They grabbed Pretorius and bundled her into the back seat of the Corolla and sped off.
Rawutini was arrested on the same day when police traced the car allegedly used during the kidnapping.
Pretorius was released eight days later, after her family paid a ransom of R1.1m.
Kafile was arrested later at a bed and breakfast in East London where he was allegedly found in possession of the ransom money which the police had marked with fluorescent paint.
The two accused face a string of charges, including kidnapping, extortion, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
During their previous court appearance in November 2024, Pretorius and her father, Pieter, gave testimony about her alleged kidnapping and how those eight days played out from each of their perspectives.
Pretorius told the court about the abduction and how she had spent eight days being moved between locations, always with a black bag over her head, until the day she was released in Struandale and managed to find help at a nearby petrol station.
In turn, Pieter recounted numerous phone calls with the alleged kidnappers, receiving videos showing his daughter alive, and how they knew very specific details about the family’s movements, as if they were being monitored closely.
The trial left off with Mac Gear finishing his cross-examination of Pretorius’s father, and the state is expected to call a new witness when the trial reconvenes on June 23.
Kafile and Rawutini remain in custody.
The Herald
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.