A Kimberly man accused of stabbing his pregnant girlfriend to death was denied bail by the Kimberley magistrate court on Wednesday and his case moved to the Northern Cape High court.
Aldean Wilkison, arrested in May 2022, was denied bail again on Wednesday after the stabbing of 28-year-old Danelle van der Linde, his girlfriend and the mother of his two children. The state opposed his application, stating that he is facing serious charges and should not be given bail. He first appeared in the district court on June 13, 2022 and had been denied bail then.
“During his bail application, the accused made a plea for bail, but the prosecution and SAPS successfully opposed it. The police had reservations about the court granting the accused bail. The main reason is that the accused might interfere with witnesses, as some are known to him." said the National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in the Northern Cape, Mojalefa Senokoatsane.
"The Prosecutor opposed bail, given the seriousness of the charges against the accused and as it was in the best interest of justice,” Seokoatsone said.
Meanwhile the family spokesperson, Shaine Griqua, has called on the government to work harder to curb cases of gender based violence in different communities.
“As a family, we are still devastated by what happened and are hoping that justice will prevail, but we also want the government to work harder and stop these killings of women in our communities,” Griqua said
Senkotsatsone says the accused will be remanded in custody, until his next court appearance, in the High Court on August 29, 2022 where his trial on charges of murder and assault is expected to commence.
Griqua says the increasing cases of women that are murdered by their partners is worrisome in South Africa, and the 2020/21 statistics by the Statistics South Africa have shown that most perpetrators of GBV in most cases are known to their victims.