Mark Lifman murder suspects: Duo make first court appearance, requests solitary confinement

The two men accused of the assassination of Cape Town underworld figure Mark Lifman briefly appeared in the George Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning.

Johannes Jacobs, 53, and Gert “Johnny” Bezuidenhout, 37, were apprehended near Uniondale in a white VW Polo following a swift but intense manhunt on Sunday afternoon.

The arrest took place mere hours after Lifman was gunned down in the parking lot of the Garden Route Mall at around 11am.

The 57-year-old suspected underworld kingpin was reportedly on his way to play golf at Fancourt in George when he was fatally shot with an assault rifle in the drive-by shooting.

The police launched a search for the murder weapon, which authorities believed was dumped soon after the killers fled the scene.

Mark Lifman assassinated day before Wainstein trial testimony

The alleged organised hit took place a day before Lifman, who was out on bail, would have been back in the dock at the Western Cape High Court on Monday.

The controversial businessman stands accused with 13 others for the 2017 murder of international steroid smuggler Brian Wainstein, who was a wanted man in the US.

Lifman’s death forced the so-called Steroid King’s murder trial to be postponed for a week.

Request for solitary confinement denied

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Jacobs and Bezuidenhout were charged with premeditated murder.

The accused asked to be held in solitary confinement, but their request was denied.

The case was postponed to next Wednesday (13 November) to gather bail information.

Lifman murder accused ’employed at security company’

According to a News24 report, Jacobs and Bezuidenhout are listed as protection service employees, with both having links to Professional Protection Alternatives (PPA) – a Cape Town security firm Lifman was at one time involved with.

The two were reportedly tasked with the protection of wealthy clients and underworld leaders.

“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,” a highly-placed police source was quoted as saying in a DFA report.

“Apparently they believed Lifman was behind the murder of one of their [security] officers in an incident in Paarden Island.”

 Speaking to the media outside court, Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile described Jacobs as a “highly, highly trained” former Special Task Force (STF) member. 

“But he left the police force long ago,” said Patekile.

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