Two suspects in Mark Lifman murder make first court appearance

Mark Lifman

Cape Town — The two suspects linked to the murder of controversial Cape Town businessman, Mark Lifman, made their first appearance in the George Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

Johannes Hendrik Jacobs (53) and Gert Johannes Bezuidenhout (37) face charges of premeditated murder for the murder of Lifman, who was gunned down outside the Garden Route Mall in George.

The duo appeared in court under heavy police guard, where Western Cape Police Commissioner, Thembisile Patekile, revealed one of the suspects was a former member of the police’s special task force. He also did not rule out any further arrests as the investigation continues, EWN reported.

The accused’s request to be placed in solitary confinement was denied by the court. 
Patekile said they could not rule out more arrests as the investigation continues.

As reported by DFA, Jacobs and Bezuidenhout were arrested in Uniondale and the vehicle that they were travelling on was confiscated, The suspects had fled the scene after the shooting and were arrested a few hours after the incident due to police, law enforcement and security companies who were activated to be on the lookout.

According to a police source, the two suspects are both employed at a security company based in Cape Town, while one of the suspects had also previously worked as a SAPS officer.

“Both of them work for that company and the shooter was a former member of the Saps Task Force who was fired for tampering with evidence. They believed Lifman was behind the murder of one of their officers in an incident in Paarden Island,” said the source.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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