Pretoria - Murderer André Gouws, described by Pretoria High Court Judge Johan Kruger as a “slippery, talkative and evasive witness”, appeared not too concerned as his fate was being sealed - he entered the court happily munching on an apple and sipping coffee from a plastic cup after the tea break.
Gouws and his co-accused, Ambrose Monye - who were cuffed together - seemed in high spirits, smiling and laughing in the dock as they waited for the judge to resume his judgment.
By that time Judge Kruger had made several damning findings against the pair, but this did not seem to dampen their mood.
They hugged friends and family and waved at others sitting in the public gallery.
Before the start of the judgment, Gouws’s mother, Lenie Gouws, said she was optimistic that he was coming home.
“I believe in his innocence. There is no way they can convict him,” she told the Pretoria News.
Gouws, sporting a cross around his neck, meanwhile appeared as if he was on a summer holiday, wearing sandals and bermuda shorts.
Earlier, he had told court staff in the holding cells that he thought he would be eating a steak “at home tonight” (Monday night), as well as having a warm shower.
Before judgment resumed, Gouws commented to an interpreter that “the end is finally here”.
After the lunch break Gouws appeared a bit more solemn and closed his eyes for a few minutes, as if praying.
Neither Gouws nor Monye showed much emotion when convicted of Chanelle Henning’s murder. Both stared ahead.
Making their way down to the holding cells, Gouws blew a kiss at his mother and pointed to his heart to show that he loved her.
A smiling Monye enthusiastically waved at friends before disappearing down the stairs, cuffed to his partner in crime.
Pretoria News