Update

KNYSNA NEWS - After a lengthy bail application, Waydon Bezuidenhout (32), the man accused of murdering renowned Knysna businessman Mawande Kondlo (46), was denied bail in the Knysna Magistrate's Court on Thursday 8 September.

Bezuidenhout's bail application began on 1 September, but as it was not concluded on the day it was remanded to Wednesday 7 September to continue. 

It continued through the next day, Thursday 8 September, at the end of which the decision was reached to deny bail. The case was remanded to 10 October for further investigation and Bezuidenhout remains in custody.

The decision will undoubtedly be welcomed by the community, as a crowd of community members gathered outside the Knysna Magistrate's Court during Bezuidenhout's very first court appearance on 26 August, as well as on the day the bail application started, strongly opposing bail.

The crowd handed over a petition with hundreds of signatures opposing bail to the case's investigating officer, along with a memorandum.

Bezuidenhout was taken into custody on Thursday 25 August. Southern Cape police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie says that the arrest was made after an extensive and intricate investigation by Knysna detectives in collaboration with Garden Route District Crime Intelligence and a private security company that monitors CCTV cameras in Knysna.

An off-duty police official found Kondlo's body at Bokkoppie near the Uniondale Road (R339) at 18:50 on 17 January. His hands and legs were bound with a cloth and he had a head wound.

'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'