Ndiyabulela Vayi, Thando Nkolongo and Yamnkela Mdunyelwa, the three suspects accused of the murder of Karin van Aardt, briefly appeared in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court yesterday for a formal bail application.

All three accused advised their legal representative that they wished to withdraw the application, Lowvelder reports.

No reasons were placed on record, and the case was postponed to February 26, 2026.

Karin and her husband, Herman, had flown from Mbombela to Cape Town on December 5 and were travelling to Vredenburg for their grandchild’s eighth birthday when they were attacked in a smash-and-grab incident that resulted in her death.

The state previously alleged that the three men had lain in wait next to Jakes Gerwel Drive and, when the couple stopped at a red robot, they struck.

Nkolongo is alleged to have broken the passenger-side window with a spark plug, enabling Vayi to attempt to grab Karin’s handbag and GPS.

Karin resisted and refused to let go of her belongings. Vayi then allegedly stabbed her several times in the chest, leading to her death.

A relative of Karin told Lowvelder that enough had been said about the tragedy and that justice must now take its course.

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