State closes bail application case
THE STATE has closed its case in the bail application for Linda Ntulo, boyfriend of murdered Aviwe Jam Jam of Khayelitsha.
Prosecutor Nangamso Matta told the Athlone magistrate’s court that the State was ready to file heads of arguments.
This comes after the investigating officer, Benjamin Barker, testified that the pair of sneakers taken from a Section 204 witness matched those worn by Jam Jam on the last day she was seen alive.
Jam Jam was found dead in Vygieskraal Street, Athlone. Ntulo has been charged with her murder.
Barker said a grey pair of Air Force Nike boot-like sneakers recovered from one of the two men who had disposed of the body was Jam Jam’s. The man has turned State witness.
“They matched the description given by the accused of what she had been wearing that day,” said Barker.
Ntulo’s defence lawyer, Asghar Mia, challenged Barker on whether he could say with certainty that the sneakers were the exact pair Ntulo was describing.
“I cannot say with certainty in court that it is. But they do match the description we were given by the accused,” he replied.
Barker said they had sent the sneakers for lab testing and were still waiting for the results.
He added that Jam Jam’s family had not been given the opportunity to identify the shoes.
In court it was heard that Ntulo had a pending case at the Cape Town magistrate’s court for attempted theft, which he would be attending today.
In his last court hearing, Ntulo was described by Barker as a danger and likely to kill again.
Barker told the court that Ntulo was a member of a gang operating in Khayelitsha, Philippi East and Nyanga.
He requested that the court deny Ntulo bail, alleging that he had not only abused Jam Jam, but also previous girlfriends, resulting in one spending two months in hospital.
Ntulo is also in bail application proceedings for an attempted murder charge at the Khayelitsha court. He is alleged to have beaten Jam Jam’s stepfather, causing head injuries that needed 12 stitches.
Arguments for the murder charge will be heard on November 20. –