Erwin Christmas, who was previously sentenced to life imprisonment for killing Magistrate Tony Hofert in 2001 and subsequently released on parole, was shocked on Friday morning when the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court sent him back to prison.

This occurred after the court found out that he lied about his previous conviction and violated bail conditions for the attempted murders of Adnan Ahmar and Mian Irfan Gani, whom he allegedly stabbed multiple times on November 19, 2025. 

Magistrate Hofert was the presiding officer in a case involving Christmas at the time of the murder. Christmas shot Hofert four times in the chest on the morning he was due to appear before the court. Christmas shot the magistrate shortly after Hofert dropped his daughter off at Pinetown Girls High School. 

When KwaZulu-Natal former Judge President Vuka Tshabalala sentenced Christmas, he stated that he should not be released on parole as he is a danger to society. His accomplice, former police captain Dawchand Dawlat, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment. 

Christmas, who claimed to have married in March 2025, was arrested in November 2025 on the new charges of attempted murder. 

When applying for bail, he did not reveal his conviction for killing Magistrate Hofert or that he was out on parole, and was subsequently granted R2,000 bail.

Appearing in the Magistrate’s Court on Friday morning, Christmas stated that he was now representing himself and demanded that the charges against him be dropped, claiming he was the victim.

“I have made submissions to the senior public prosecutor and the NPA to have the charges dropped,” he asserted.

However, State prosecutor Sifiso Mtshali requested Christmas’s bail be cancelled. Mtshali argued that Christmas had violated his bail conditions by living at a different address and had misled the court by claiming to have no previous convictions.

“His convictions were discovered after he was granted bail,” Mtshali explained. 

Christmas told Magistrate Wendalyn Robinson that he was under the impression that his conviction had been expunged because it wasn’t showing up in his records. He also stated that he had applied to have the murder conviction expunged. 

Nevertheless, he confirmed that he went to report and sign with his parole officer in November, and his most recent signature was on January 21, 2026.

“The fact that you reported to your parole officer is an indication that you were aware of your previous convictions. How could your conviction be expunged if you are still reporting to a parole officer?” Magistrate Robinson asked.

However, Christmas said when he was charged, his records were checked, and the murder conviction did not appear. “I did not mislead the court. I just went with what the records said at the time. My attorney prepared affidavits based on those records.”

Christmas, who claimed to hold a BCom Honours degree and a Master’s in Business Administration, faced scrutiny from the court regarding his dishonesty. He attributed it to an oversight and requested an extension of his bail, arguing that he is the primary caregiver for his child while his wife works seven days a week.

However, Mtshali strongly objected, insisting that the bail should be cancelled. The court concurred with Mtshali and revoked Christmas’s bail. 

He was immediately taken into custody by police, who were present in large numbers for the matter. As he was led to the cells, he called out to someone in the gallery, asking them to contact his wife.

The matter is to proceed in early March. 

nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za

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