Sulaiman Effendi, the son of murderer Najwa Dirk, and his two co-
accused are back in court on April Fool’s Day to face charges relating to the protection of wild animals after a lion cub was found in Athlone last year.
Effendi, Rayaan Simons and Shurud Jacobs made a brief appearance at the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
Their matter was postponed to April 1 for
further investigation.
In December, Cape Nature confirmed they were forced to euthanise the four-month-old lion cub found at an Athlone home because it would not be able to readapt to the wild.
CHARGED: Sulaiman
The trio were arrested in August 2019.
Cops from the Stock and Endangered Species Unit found the lion cub at Effendi’s home in Lawrence Road.
A photograph of the lion cub being held by Sulaiman, mimicking the movie The Lion King, went viral on social media.
The animal had been purchased for an estimated R50 000.
They are facing 14 charges relating to the protection of wild animals.
CASE: Shurud Jacobs
The matter had been postponed to yesterday after a request for DNA samples to be tested against male and female lions in Thabazimbi in Limpopo, believed to be the cub’s parents.
The DNA analysis could support the State’s case that the cub had been taken from Limpopo and brought to Cape Town.