JOHANNESBURG: The Thulsie twins Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee did not make eye contact with anyone as they walked into the dock yesterday.
Then one took a quick backward glance at his relatives and smiled as he locked eyes with his mother, sitting in the public gallery.
Her eyes lit up and seconds later she collapsed crying softly into the arms of a family member seated next to her. Minutes later the same twin mouthed: “I love you” to his mother and she blew him a kiss.
The twins appeared for the second time in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday to face terrorism- related charges.
They allegedly planned explosions at a US mission and at Jewish institutions in Johannesburg. They are also accused of attempting to travel to Syria to join the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
The pair were supposed to apply for bail yesterday but the application couldn’t continue as the twins hired new legal representation.
Annamart Nieman confirmed that she would be representing the twins now and that she was still waiting for further particulars from the state. The prosecutor, Chris Macadam, confirmed that the charge sheet was complete and that the state had agreed with the defence that the matter be postponed to July 25.
“We want to resolve all issues so that we can proceed on Monday with minimal disruptions,” he said.
Magistrate Pieter du Plessis was scathing about the many journalists who crammed the court, sitting everywhere.
“The court is not a taxi, I will not allow it to be a circus,” he said.
After the appearance Nat- ional Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Louw said the NPA would be opposing bail because “the accused are charged with offences of a serious nature”. She would not divulge the grounds for opposing bail.
“Unfortunately we cannot declare our grounds, we don’t want to be involved in a trial by the media,” said Louw, adding that the NPA would speak about it following court proceedings next week.
Regarding whether extra charges may be added at a later stage Louw said investigations were ongoing.