The only suspect arrested in the hijacking and abduction of Durban businesswoman Marta Rubilar will spend Christmas in a cell.

Because of a busy court schedule as 2018 winds down, the earliest Asibonge Mdlalose can apply for bail is January 10.

He faces charges of kidnapping and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Rubilar, 54 , was hijacked and kidnapped by a gang of men outside her place of work in Powell Road, Morningside, two weeks ago.

CCTV footage of her snatching, which showed her being bundled into her own car by a group of men who had lain in wait for her, went viral.

She was found several hours later unharmed in Newlands West by police officers on patrol. Her car was found abandoned in KwaMashu. 

Prosecutor Surekha Marimuthu told the Durban magistrate's court that Rubilar was unable to point Mdlalose out in an identification parade held on Tuesday morning.

"The ID parade was held this morning … this was negative but the state is opposed to bail as there is other evidence we will be relying upon," she said.

At his first appearance the 28-year-old cut a dishevelled figure, with a beard and a full head of hair. But on Tuesday he was clean shaven and stood confidently in the dock.

His three alleged accomplices remain at large.