Africa-Press – South-Africa. The bail application of three men accused of being part of a kidnapping syndicate could not go ahead on Thursday because their lawyer was absent.
Addis Tilahus, Dudu Selby Tsotetsi and Biyanm Daniwe appeared briefly in the packed Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.
The magistrate, Lucas van der Schyff, told the men that their lawyer, advocate R. Gissen, was engaged in another matter elsewhere.
Tilahus and Daniwe are from Ethiopia.
The trio was arrested, along with Willie Nkosi, Gift Nhlanhla Kotsholo and Thokozani Madala.
They were apprehended at various places in January after they allegedly kidnapped Ethiopian businessman, Dawit Gebre Maeske Malles.
Tilahus, Tsotetsi and Daniwe had brought bail applications before Van der Schyff, while Nkosi, Kotsholo and Madala abandoned their bail.
The six allegedly ambushed, robbed and kidnapped Malles on 7 January, near Kwa Mai Mai, in Johannesburg.
The victim was robbed of his cellphone during the kidnapping.
Malles was then taken to a house in Daveyton, where he was kept against his will until 19 January, when he was rescued.
It is alleged that the accused demanded R3 million ransom from the victim’s wife during the ordeal.
According to the charge sheet, they pressured his wife, Yassera Yordanos Tibed, by phoning and sending WhatsApp messages, to demand the R3 million in cash for the release of her husband.
Tibed then alerted the police.
The police involved the Special Task Force, who rescued Malles from the house in Daveyton, 12 days later.
Police seized five luxury cars, including two BMWs, two Mercedes Benz sedans and a Toyota Urban Cruiser, and confiscated 20 cellphones and 30 portable GPS tracking devices.
The men were linked via cellphone records.
Tilahus, Tsotetsi and Daniwe’s bail hearing will continue on 3 April, while all the accused will appear on 31 March.
Tilahus’ wife was shot and wounded after dropping her child at a nursery school in Bedfordview on 21 February.
She sustained bullet wounds to the body. She was shot while sitting inside her white BMW sedan.
Her bodyguard, who was driving a white VW Toureg, was shot and wounded.
The bodyguard was parked outside the school when the gunman opened fire, and he was wounded.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
