The man accused of murdering a 14-year-old former Ikusasalethu Secondary School learner, Likhona Fose, was on Wednesday granted bail of R5,000.

Mduduzi Trevor Mnisi, the 39-year-old parolee who faces several charges, including premeditated murder, appeared in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, where, due to a lack of evidence linking him to the disappearance of the Durban Deep learner, he was granted bail.

Mnisi, who was allegedly last seen with Likhona in May, the day she went missing, has previously denied his involvement in the gruesome murder.

Likhona’s mysterious disappearance sent shockwaves among the community of Braamfischerville and Durban Deep after she was found mutilated, just a day after her disappearance on June 1.

However, with the defence maintaining that there is no evidence linking Mnisi to the murder, Mnisi, who was taken into custody at the beginning of June in connection with the horrific crime, was released.

The matter was postponed to Friday, July 11.

Mnisi is currently out on parole for a 2009 robbery and attempted murder conviction.

His release comes a week after his girlfriend, Pinky Gantso, testified and provided an alibi for the day Likhona disappeared, stating that Mnisi had visited her in Daveyton on the night in question.

The State, which had opposed bail, was accused of relying heavily on a witness statement claiming Mnisi was seen with Likhona on May 31, shortly before she was reported missing.

The investigating officer in the matter, Moses Semosa, who testified last week, insisted that Mnisi was the last person to be seen with Likhona around Durban Deep, adding that due to Mnisi’s previous conviction, he should not be granted bail.

Semosa returned to the stand in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday as Mnisi continued his bid for bail.

He revealed that Gantso’s evidence corroborates Mnisi’s claims that he was in Daveyton at the time.

“I have the cellphone records of the applicant who is appearing here before the court. Your worship, the information that I am reading here shows that on the 31st May, 2025, at 16:55:49 seconds…  the tower shows Daveyton. It also shows that he had communication with another person… At 20:01, the tower shows Kagiso,” the officer stated.

In his defence, Mnisi gave the court an account of his whereabouts on the day of Likhona’s disappearance.

He said: “That Saturday, I went to Daveyton. When I came back, it was approximately past 7 to 8 in the evening,” he told the court.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane, stated that the State accepts the decision by the court to grant Mnisi bail.

“As the NPA, we accept the decision by the court to grant the accused bail and the matter will return to court on Friday, July 11, for further investigations,” she said.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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