The bail hearing of the trio accused of murdering Protea bass angler John Wickham at his Dullstroom holiday cottage on November 26 has been postponed until Friday.

The accused, Mozambicans James Cumaio, Gil Ernesto Manave and Acucena Juliao Shambe, also face charges of aggravated robbery, among others.

They appeared in the Dullstroom Magistrate’s Court yesterday, where Manave withdrew his bail application.

Both Cumaio and Shambe will be back in court on Friday to continue arguments on why they should be released on bail.

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

He was charged with contravention of the Immigration Act. After further investigation, he was 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. This led investigators to Manave (38) and Shambe (28) on January 23.

An unlicensed semi-automatic firearm, which has been sent for ballistics analysis, was found during a search of the property.

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

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

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