The 39-year-old man accused of murdering a toddler on an Upper Tongaat sugar cane farm on Boxing Day, has abandoned his application for bail.

Fanisile (full name withheld to protect the identity of a surviving child) appeared for the second time at the Verulam Magistrate’s Court for a bail application hearing last Friday morning, but decided to postpone his bail application to a later date. The state is seeking a life term for the accused.

Fanisile’s state provided defence attorney, Nkululeko Nzimande, told the Courier this tactic was sometimes used by defendants.

“The suspect will abandon their bail applications for many reasons. They do this if they do not want any media attention, because they think delays will cause interest in the case to dwindle.

Some suspects also fear for their safety and what would happen to them if they were granted bail and released back into the community.”

In the meantime, Fanisile is currently being held at the Westville Correctional Centre.

He is accused of strangling his girlfriend’s three-year-old son to death in the early hours of December 26. He is also accused of trying to kill his partner’s nine-year-old son by throttling him before hacking at him with a bush knife.

The state also added charges of kidnapping and malicious damage to property. A fifth charge of intimidation has been dropped but no reasons were given for this decision.

The farm worker is being kept in prison until his next court appearance, via video link, on February 26.

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