Action Society is calling on the Bellville Regional Court to prevent repeated applications to amend bail conditions from overshadowing the prosecution of Sameemah Jacobs, who is accused of abducting baby Mogamat Imaad Sharmar. The matter was postponed again yesterday, 2 November 2026, and will return to court on 8 December 2026 for a pre-trial conference.
Action Society welcomes the refusal of Jacobs’s application, brought on 28 September 2026, to amend her bail conditions to attend a school function. The organisation remains concerned that successive requests concerning her personal arrangements have become a recurring feature of proceedings while the family waits for the case to reach trial.
“Jacobs has repeatedly returned with different reasons why her bail conditions should be changed. The court has heard requests relating to a religious excursion, visits to Mitchells Plain to see her son and collect belongings, and attendance at a school function. Meanwhile, a mother whose nine-day-old baby was abducted is still waiting for the trial,” says Juanita du Preez, Action Society’s national spokesperson.
“Action Society is concerned that the latitude afforded by the legal process leaves too much room for it to be exploited. The magistrate must draw a firm line against repetitive or inadequately justified applications and make clear that bail conditions are binding restrictions in a serious criminal matter. The family’s interests cannot keep taking second place to the accused’s convenience.”
Baby Mogamat was just nine days old when he was abducted from a Bellville shopping mall on 28 June 2025. According to his mother, Imaan Sharmar, Jacobs allegedly gained her trust by using false identities, including posing as a nurse associated with a programme that assisted young mothers. Imaan briefly left her baby in the woman’s care while she went to the bathroom. When she returned, they were gone.
SAPS found baby Mogamat safely at a house in Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain, on 30 June 2025, and Jacobs was arrested. She was subsequently granted bail of R4 000.
Imaan approached Action Society for assistance on 4 August 2025 and mandated the organisation to support her. Action Society has since monitored proceedings and formally opposed the relaxation of Jacobs’s bail conditions, raising concerns about the interests and safety of the mother and child.
The matter was transferred to the Bellville Regional Court in March 2026. Subsequent postponements have concerned legal representation, further particulars and applications to amend bail conditions.
“Finding baby Mogamat alive did not erase the trauma of his abduction. By the next appearance, more than 17 months will have passed since he was taken. The court must enforce clear deadlines, scrutinise any further requests for postponement and ensure that the pre-trial conference produces concrete progress towards trial. This family deserves a justice process that moves forward with the seriousness this case demands,” says Du Preez.
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