Three accused linked to Ditebogo Junior Phalane's murder abandon bail

An undocumented Mozambican national and two South Africans believed to have been behind the murder of  five-year-old Ditebogo Junior Phalane decided to abandon bail when they appeared in court in Pretoria.

Elia Maeko, Ali Sithole, and Nido Gumbo appeared before magistrate Naseema Khan at Pretoria North magistrate's court on Tuesday for charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Gumbo, a Mozambican national, was also charged with additional charge of being in the country illegally.

Ditebogo's parents, whose eyes were red and looked like they could brim with tears anytime, sat just a few metres behind the three accused.

The trio's lawyer, Thulani Kekana, said Maeko, Sithole and Gumbo had decided to provisionally abandon their bail application and would approach the court when they are ready to proceed with it.

“All we ask for is for the state to be transparent during their investigation,” he said.

State prosecutor, Adv Tumelo Letaoane, told the court they were intending to oppose bail and further asked for a postponement to finalise the investigation.

“We still await postmortem results and further statements to be obtained, including chain of evidence.

"We still need to trace other suspects and await further instructions from the deputy director of public prosecutions and the senior public prosecutor,” said Letaoane.

Presiding officer Khan postponed the case to August 27 to allow the state to gather the outstanding information.

Ditebogo was shot and killed earlier this month as he was running to welcome his father at their Soshanguve home. The father was arriving home just as hijackers pounced.

After court proceedings, Gift Makoti – who is the spokesperson for the Phalane family – told the media that they appreciated the work law enforcement has done to bring suspects to justice.

“We feel much better now. The police have done their job; we just have to put our faith in the National Prosecuting Authority to make sure they prosecute them.

"Coming face-to-face with the suspects has brought mixed emotions but at this stage we try to keep calm and contain the emotions. We are still hurt, and I don’t think the feeling will go away anytime soon, but we are receiving the necessary support,” he said.

The three accused have other pending cases at different courts.

Maeko is facing a charge of possession of a firearm and ammunition at Pretoria North magistrate's court. Sithole is facing charges of attempted murder, hijacking, and possession of firearms and ammunition at GaRankuwa magistrate's court.

Meanwhile, Sithole is expected to appear with Gumbo at Atteridgeville magistrate’s court on Thursday on charges of possession of prohibited firearm and ammunition.