Man accused of kidnapping his three children will have to spend another week behind bars as he awaits verdict on bail

Judgment on a bail application by Abdul Tarmahomed‚ who is accused of kidnapping his three children‚ is set to be handed down next Thursday.

The state opposed bail when Tarmahomed appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday‚ citing his prior conduct and calling him a flight risk because of a prior missed court date.

Tarmahomed's advocate‚ Alwyn Rossouw‚ said during the formal bail application that Tarmahomed was not served any of the High Court orders instated against him by his ex-wife. The lawyer further argued Tarmahomed needed to be released on bail to tend to his supply business and provide for his children and parents‚ currently living in Mozambique.

“A person can't be in contempt of court if he does not have any knowledge about it‚” Rossouw argued.

The judge announced at the end of the proceedings she needed more time to look over the documents submitted by the two sides and will reserve her judgment until April 20.

Tarmohamed‚ a British national‚ was arrested at the end of March for being in contempt of a court order. He was accused by his ex-wife and mother of his three children‚ Somiya Basaran‚ an Indian national‚ of taking the children to Mozambique without her consent in August last year.

Rossouw told the court that Mozambican courts had granted Tarmohamed temporary custody of the children in February 2016 and full custody in October 2016.

Basar approached the High Court in Pretoria in March and the court granted her temporary custody of the children.

Tramahomed had married Basar and resided in Mozambique‚ but the couple and their children had relocated to Johannesburg because of increasing crime in Mozambique.

The family had been in living in South Africa since 2014 on permits that expired in September 2016.