Cape Town – The man accused of killing 13-year-old Rene-Tracy Roman from Lavender Hill abandoned his bid for bail on Tuesday after residents protested inside and outside the court.
Rene’s body was found dead metres from her home on March 21 in a shed at Andrew Plaatjies’ girlfriend’s home.
Plaatjies stood quietly in the dock as he awaited proceedings. Rene’s grandmother, stepfather and mother were in court, as were supporters dressed in pink in honour of the slain teenager.
Magistrate Goolam Bawa told a crowd in the public gallery to be quiet. When Plaatjies appeared, the State informed the magistrate that he was abandoning his bail bid.
The State also asked the court for more time to conduct a thorough investigation and said it wanted to return to the crime scene to take new photographs.
Plaatjies’ lawyer did not give a definitive answer why his client decided to abandon his bail application.
It is believed that when Plaatjies was arrested and brought back to Lavender Hill, residents tried to attack him.
As Plaatjies made his way down to the cells, community members stood up and shouted “hardloop” (run). Outside court there was jubilation as the crowd heard the news that he would remain in jail.
According to community leader Lucinda Evans, the picketing outside was only the beginning. “It’s been a tough time for Rene’s family and today is a successful day.”
Evans said the community would picket outside the Mitchells Plain court on the May 3 when Randy Tango, accused of killing Stacha Arendse, 11, was due to appear.
“We are here today to defend our children. We are not asking permission; this is a peaceful demonstration,” she said.
Plaatjies is charged with murder and attempted rape.
The matter was postponed to June 23.