Ex-PA ward candidate ditches bail bid in murder case

FORMER Patriotic Alliance (PA) ward candidate Fernando Visagie, 35, who is charged with the murder of his ex-partner and mother of his child, Cherolene Lawan, has abandoned his right to apply for bail in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court.

Lawan, 35, was allegedly stabbed multiple times at her home in Homevale following an argument with the accused during the early hours of December 29.

Kimberley Magistrate Benjamin September postponed the bail application on January 15 due to the absence of the investigating officer. The State opposed bail and indicated that Visagie was facing a Schedule 6 offence, in which an accused must prove exceptional circumstances to be released from custody.

Visagie’s legal representative, Shan Davids, objected to the postponement, saying her client had been in custody for more than two weeks.

Community members held up photographs of Lawan as Visagie was led back to the holding cells.

Davids advised the court on January 19 that her client had decided to abandon his bail application.

The courtroom was filled to capacity for both appearances, with community members calling for Visagie to remain behind bars until the finalisation of the case.

Hundreds sign petition for no bail

Head of the PA Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) desk, Faith Irwin, said they handed a petition signed by 691 people to the prosecution on Monday, urging that Visagie not be granted bail.

She said Lawan was a PA member and that her two young children had been left without a mother.

“She was a quiet person. The community is enraged over her brutal death,” said Irwin.

An online petition drawn up by Justice4All has been signed by 865 people.

The deceased’s parents, Claudette and John Lawan, said they want custody of their biological grandchild.

They said the two-year-old girl was in the bedroom at the time of the incident, while her brother had spent the night with them.

The director of the Shaine Griqua Advice and Development Centre, Shaine Griqua, said they had provided psychosocial support and trauma counselling to the broader family, as well as Lawan’s children aged nine and two, in partnership with the National Emergency Response Team (NERT) from Pretoria.

“We will request the Department of Social Development to intervene so that the maternal grandparents are given custody of the youngest child. There is an urgent need for continued psychosocial support, particularly trauma counselling for the children as they are very young and vulnerable,” he added.

Visagie’s matter was postponed for further investigation until February 19.