The bail hearing of the trio accused of murdering Protea bass angler John Wickham at his Dullstroom holiday cottage on November 26 last year, has been postponed till Friday in the Dullstroom Magistrate’s Court, where Mozambicans James Cumaio, Gil Ernesto Manave and Acucena Juliao Shambe also face aggravated robbery and weapons charges.

They appeared in court yesterday, where Manave withdrew his bail application.

Both Cumaio and Shambe will continue arguments on why they should be released, pending trial on Friday.

A provincial task team followed information that led to the arrest of Cumaio (38) at Marikana on November 30.

He was charged with contravention of the Immigration Act, however, after further investigation, Cumaio was subsequently charged with murder and robbery on January 12.

Information then surfaced on the whereabouts of another possible suspect in possession of an unlicensed firearm in Cullinan.

On January 23, the investigation led investigators to Manave (38) and Shambe (28).
An unlicensed semi-automatic firearm was found during the search of the property, which has been sent for ballistic analysis.

During yesterday’s proceedings, the state handed in a petition with more than 4 000 signatures started by Mr Wickham’s sons Tristan and Nathan, who are petitioning the court for bail to be denied.

Mr Wickham was shot and killed while protecting his wife Magda from the robbers who entered their holiday cottage shortly after 04:00 on Sunday, November 26.

Mr Wickham was rushed to Belfast Hospital, some 30km from Dullstroom, where he was declared deceased on arrival.