Cape Town - Leroy Morris, one of the men charged with the murder of 26-year-old Aviwe Jam Jam, is in need of urgent medical care as a result of appendicitis, the Athlone Magistrate Court heard on Wednesday.
Morris and co-accused Linda Ntulo appeared in court together for the first time on Wednesday.
Ntulo and Jam Jam had been dating at the time of her murder and they have a two-year-old son together. The Khayelitsha mom's body was found dumped in a field in Athlone on July 29. Her family said she had been battered to death.
Calling for an urgent bail application David Mbazwana, representing both the accused, said Morris was not receiving the necessary care in Pollsmoor Prison.
“Accused number two is suffering from stomach pains, this has to do with his appendix. He has been given pain tablets, but the tablets are not effective. The only way he will be okay is to undergo an appendix operation,” he said.
Mbazwana said Morris was taken to the hospital section, but was told that the operation would not be carried out in Pollsmoor.
“They told him he needs to make the bail application and come out. My client knows what he is suffering from and what can relieve him of the pains, but he can’t do it because he is inside,” he said.
The bail application was postponed to October 3, due to the absence of the State's advocate.
Outside court, Mbazwana said the rights of both his clients were being infringed upon by delaying the bail application.
“The only thing my clients want is to know why they are being linked to this case. Even if they could ask me now how they are linked to the case I would not be able to provide them with answers as no information is being passed to me.
“They are being kept in custody for something that they can’t even explain themselves as to what their involvement is. We are waiting on the bail application to find out.”
He said Ntulo was frustrated about the delays.
“He says he is okay, but one can see that he is not coping,” said Mbazwana.
Ntulo appeared in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for the attempted murder of Jam Jam’s stepfather outside his home in Site C, Khayelitsha.
The bail application in that matter has been postponed to September 27, 2017.