Bid to appeal murder conviction fails

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Published Nov 6, 2015

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Durban - An appeal against conviction brought by the killers of Pietermaritzburg businessman, Kushendran (Kush) Acharrie, was dismissed on Thursday.

On October 24, 2012, Mondli Maphanga, 24, and Solethu Maduna, 21, were sentenced to life in prison for Acharrie’s murder.

The men were sentenced to a further 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, and 15 years for the armed robbery of an Ethiopian national whom they had hijacked, as well as another 15 years for the unlawful possession of a semi-automatic firearm and ammunition.

Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges, and raised alibi defences, claiming they knew nothing about the murder.

Acharrie, 35, was gunned down in front of his wife on October 20, 2010, in an attempted midnight hijacking.

The car-business owner was shot in the neck and pulled out of his BMW 325i while his wife was in the passenger seat. His assailants tried to start the car, but failed.

They then robbed him and his wife of their cellphones, wallet, handbag, cash and a 9mm pistol before fleeing.

Acharrie’s wife managed to drive the car to a nearby friend. When she returned to the scene, her husband was dying.

The strength of the State’s case against the men lay heavily on the evidence of an accomplice witness, who made a confession to police.

On appeal, the men challenged the court’s reliance on the evidence of the accomplice.

They alleged that the accomplice witness was unreliable and untruthful.

Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Shyam Gyanda found the versions of the men were untruthful.

“Their evidence was riddled with contradictions and fraught with improbabilities of such a high degree that it could be safely accepted as false. There is no doubt… the trial court was correct in rejecting the alibi defences of the appellants,” he said.

Gyanda found that the State had proved its case against the men beyond reasonable doubt.

Daily News

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