The Durban high court has dismissed an application by Mohammed Vahed Ebrahim, the man accused of killing Sydenham schoolboy Miguel Louw, to have the murder and kidnapping charges against him dropped.

In a brief appearance on Monday, judge Jacqueline Henriques said she would give her reasons for refusing the application when handing down her judgment.

Ebrahim was arrested after Louw's decomposing body was discovered in a bushy area in Phoenix in September last year. The discovery was made less than 100m from Ebrahim’s family home.

Video footage from a motor spares shop near Miguel’s home showed him walking with Ebrahim on the day he went missing in July last year.

During the application, Ebrahim’s advocate, Jay Naidoo, argued that Ebrahim and Mike Louw, Miguel’s uncle, were in the same position because of their respective relationships with Louw’s mother, Raylene. He said there was reason to view both as “scorned lovers”.

“The state's case is based on circumstantial evidence. There is no direct evidence to show the accused's actions satisfy the crime of killing,” Naidoo told the court.

He added: “The state wants this court to first infer that the accused kidnapped the deceased. You are then expected to draw a second inference [about the murder]. If the state has failed to make a case on the kidnapping then there is no murder case,” said Naidoo.

The matter will be back in court for closing arguments on February 20 and 21.