Durban — A 30-year-old man charged with the murder of his 8-year-old son has been refused bail by the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court.
Siyabonga Innocent Shezi is alleged to have beaten and strangled Sfundo Sibisi in the Shongweni area in January 2023, three months before the boy’s ninth birthday and a few days away from beginning Grade 3 at Umthala Primary School in KwaNdengezi.
Shezi was arrested on the day of the alleged murder. At the time he tendered a confession and had done a pointing out of the scene to police. At his court appearance, Shezi chose to abandon his bail application.
However, after his matter had been transferred from the district to the regional court, now the trial court, and after a pre-trial conference, Shezi in an about-turn indicated that he wanted to exercise his right to apply for bail.
During the bail application, Shezi had told the court that he wanted to be released on bail to take care of his sickly mother and to re-start his tuck shop business where he sold fast food.
During his cross-examination by State prosecutor Rowen Souls, he told the court that he had 12 siblings with him being the second-born.
“The grounds you seek bail on are not anything out of the ordinary; there are people who will take care of your mom including your siblings.
“A prima facie case has been made by the State thus far,” said magistrate L Gurie in her ruling. There was a likelihood that Shezi would evade trial if released on bail given the strong case the State has against him, she said.
The accused and his son’s mother had broken up at the time of the murder and she had been at work.
Shezi allegedly phoned her telling her that he had murdered their child. He allegedly told Sibisi to go and look for their son in the bushes in Shongweni before animals fed on his body.
That was when Sibisi phoned her family at Shongweni Dam asking them to go to the area and indeed they found my boy’s lifeless body.
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Daily News