Publications
Partners
More details of poor family ties and shoddy living arrangements emerged in the bail application for Mohammed Ebrahim, the sole suspect in the murder of Durban boy Miguel Louw.
Following a host of inconsistencies in Ebrahim's testimony last week, detective Warrant Officer Rajen Govender on Wednesday called for the 43-year-old to remain behind bars.
Key to Wednesday's court sitting in the Durban Magistrate's Court, was evidence from Govender showing strained ties between Ebrahim and his family.
He testified that Ebrahim's family had grown tired of his disturbing behaviour with them and relegated him to live in a Wendy house located in the front yard of his parents home.
"He was on many occasions arrogant, displayed a violent nature toward family members. He had many arguments with his sister who resided on the property as well."
Govender said Ebrahim's sister also accused him of stealing jewelry from their home.
"She suspected that Ebrahim was responsible for the theft. A heated argument between Ebrahim and his sister resulted in him being moved outside to the Wendy house."
Not the breadwinner
Ebrahim's previous claim that he was the sole breadwinner for his family was also dismissed by Govender.
"Despite earlier claims, Ebrahim is not the breadwinner of the family. His parents receive an old age pension grant and his father runs a tailoring business. His sister pays rent for being on the property and also pays utilities."
Also read: Miguel Louw murder accused appears evasive, inconsistent on the stand
Govender added that Ebrahim didn't always stay at his parent's home.
"I established that he used to come and go from his father's home in Phoenix. I interviewed a female named Rehana and her husband – they said he had lived with them for about a year."
Ebrahim apparently moved in with the couple after having strains with his family between 2016 and 2017, Govender said.
Conduct of Ebrahim
Govender also cast doubt on Ebrahim's conduct saying he allegedly evaded police for three days before his arrest.
He said that Ebrahim withheld information from Louw's mother.
"He informed the deceased mother that the child was not with him the day he went missing. He never disclosed that he had bought food for the deceased. He knew they were looking for the deceased, but still kept this information to himself."
Govender also contested how Ebrahim – who was found with the identity documents of Louw, his mother and sister – came into possession of the vital documents.
Ebrahim testified that he found them outside Louw's home, randomly on the floor. Govender however said his evidence indicated that the documents had been safely locked in a cupboard in the Louw residence.
"The deceased's mother says the documents were always kept in a cupboard safely in the home. The documents were not even in use at the time."
Ebrahim was the last person seen with the boy. CCTV footage shows him leaving a KFC in Sydenham with the 9-year-old on July 17. Louw's badly decomposed body was discovered in September.
The continues on Thursday.
