Miguel Louw's face on shirts as family await his 'killer' in court

The face of slain Sydenham boy Miguel Louw filled the gallery of the Durban Magistrate's Court on the shirts of friends and family who waited for the bail application of his alleged killer to start.

Mohammed Ebrahim, 43, was arrested for kidnapping after Miguel went missing near his home in July.

A charge of murder was added to Ebrahim's charge sheet after Louw’s decomposed remains were found in September in Phoenix, less than 100m from Ebrahim’s family home.

The murder charge was officially brought against him last week, as he stepped out of the dock after appearing on the kidnapping charge.

Among those present in the packed gallery on Wednesday was the boy's sombre mother, Raylene Louw, who worked with Ebrahim at a butchery. Ebrahim lived with Miguel and Raylene for two weeks before mother and their lodger allegedly had an altercation. 

The court previously heard that Ebrahim had slept in a shed on a foam mattress after becoming estranged from his family. He was working as a butcher at the time.

When he was first arrested‚ he was found in possession of Miguel’s original birth certificate and Raylene's identity document.

Community members sat in the public gallery waiting for the hearing to begin.