The man accused of robbing and murdering a Ukrainaian tourist on Chapman’s Peak was out on parole at the time, the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court heard on Monday.
Prosecutor Nicky Konisi did not give further details about the parole of Sinaye Mposelwa, 23, but said he had another case pending against him.
“The accused is no stranger to court. He assaulted and robbed one of the Legal Aid lawyers in this building earlier this year or last year,” she told Magistrate Goolam Bawa.
The accused, with a scar running down one cheek, was brought into court with chains around both feet. When he turned around to look at the public gallery, a woman blew him a kiss.
He is from Mandela Park in Hout Bay.
Mposelwa faces charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances, after allegedly attacking 44-year-old Ivan Ivanov near the East Fort in Hout Bay around 11:30 on Saturday.
He had been walking around the popular tourist spot.
Konisi said that, about an hour earlier, witnesses had spotted “three suspicious” men in the hiking trails and sent out an alert.
The two other suspects are still being sought.
More: News24