The man is accused of killing two siblings who went missing while playing outside their home on September 14. The children, Elam, a girl aged 9, and Muzi, a boy aged 8, lived with their mother Andiswa Ndibi, 33, at their family home.
The siblings' graves were discovered by a passerby at the Slovoville cemetery 10km from their home, where they were buried in shallow graves. Their hands had been tied together and their faces blindfolded.
The accused opted to be represented by a legal aid attorney.
The charge sheet for the case states that he faces two counts of murder and two counts of kidnapping minors.
He said he had never been accused or charged of any crimes before. The magistrate warned that the accused could be fined R80,000 or face two years' imprisonment if found to be lying about previous cases.
Gauteng MEC for community safety Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane joined scores of people at the court to demand that the man be denied bail.
The matter was postponed to November 19 to allow for the accused to be appointed an attorney and for a possible bail application. The accused has been remanded at the Kagiso police station.
An uncle of the siblings, Luvuyo Ndibi, said: "I am glad he was not granted bail. If he was, I would have bailed him myself and hell would break loose."
Ndibi said his sister Andiswa, the siblings’ mother, was not taking the situation well. "There are better and worse days. Some days she is fine and strong, and some she is just not okay. But she's surviving," he said.
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