Lifman murder trial to be heard in George

The murder trial of slain alleged underworld kingpin Mark Lifman is set to be heard at the George Regional Court early next month.

This was revealed as murder-accused Gert Bezuidenhout and Johannes Hendrik Jacobs returned to court this week. 

Lifman died in a hail of bullets at the Garden Route Mall in George on 3 November. Shortly after the shooting which was captured on CCTV cameras, cops busted the duo. 

Just days after the shooting, Lifman's close pal Jerome "Donkie" Booysen claimed that Bezuidenhout who is also known as "Johnny" was the righthand man of PPA security shareholder Alwyn Landman and said he was known to do Landman’s bidding. 

At the time, PPA management explained that the duo had only done contract work for the popular security company and denied any involvement in Lifman’s murder.

Their involvement in the murder sparked widespread speculation about who ordered the hit. Sources close to Lifman also revealed a whopping R10 million was paid for the hit. 

During the bail hearings, cops revealed that Lifman had travelled with friends to George on 31 October. 

Several days later while his friends went to play golf, Lifman informed then that he was taking the blue Ford Raptor and went to the Mall. 

Camera footage inside the mall showed Lifman had gone shopping at Studio 88 and left the winkel with two shopping bags.

In their statement, police said Lifman was not being followed inside the mall but the investigation revealed that barely a minute after he had parked the gunmen arrived in a white VW Polo and waited for him. 

The duo were represented by Advocate Michael Hellens from Johannesburg who told the court that his clients intended on pleading not guilty and were not a flight risk. 

Their bail applications were subsequently denied and they returned to court on Tuesday. 

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila says: "The case against State vs Gert Bezuidenhout and Hendrik Jacobs has been postponed until 6 May 2025 for a Regional Court date."