The bail application of a murder accused in Eastern Cape was postponed after it was alleged that she had written to her boyfriend asking for supernatural help in securing her freedom.
It is alleged that Aviwe Bila, 24, asked that the names of the Mthatha magistrate, the investigating officer and the prosecutor be given to "Mkhulu", who would use them in performing a ritual that she believed would free her.
But the postponement, granted on November 14, was last week set aside by the Mthatha High Court, which ordered an urgent bail application.
According to court documents filed by Bila's legal team, the contents of the letter were "subjectively viewed" by magistrate Zandile Mbilase as an "attempt of witchcraft".
"The magistrate submitted that they needed more time to have the witchcraft investigated," Bila's lawyer, Unathi Ximbi, contended.
He said the "love letter" was "blatantly being used to justify postponement".
National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Luxolo Tyali said: "The matter was not postponed because of the letter that contained the witchcraft allegations."
Bila is accused of planting a gun in a dustbin at the Mthatha High Court to help her brother, Yandisa, and cash-in-transit robbery kingpin Sakhumzi Mvoko escape from prison in September.
The two men were killed in a shootout with the police. Bila was arrested just over a week after the shooting and is facing five charges, including two counts of murder.
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