The case of the father of notorious prison escapee Annanias Mathe was postponed in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Although Zaphanias Mathe (80), a Mozambican, was granted R500 bail, he has yet to renew his permit to stay in South Africa, which has expired. For this reason he will be remanded in custody as he is still an illegal immigrant.
The older man was arrested on May 24 after allegedly trying to smuggle an unknown substance hidden inside a loaf of bread to his son at Pretoria’s C-Max prison.
He is charged with contravening the Correctional Services Act, which prohibits the smuggling of illegal substances into prisons.
Defence attorney Liz de Oliveira-Serrao said because the 21-day window period to renew Mathe’s permit had passed, negotiations for renewal were under way.
She asked that the toxicology report into the substance inside the loaf of bread be finalised.
She said if it is found that the smuggled substance contained nothing illegal, then the state’s case was weak as the old man was only trying to bring in a substance without prison officials knowing.
For this, a suspended sentence would be appropriate, she said.
The case was postponed to July 19. — Sapa