A Diepsloot youngster was on Wednesday convicted of the murder of French priest Father Louis Blondel, 70, who was gunned down at point-blank range at his parish because the priest simply “walked towards him” when he was confronted in his bedroom.
Nelson Malope, 19, pleaded guilty to murder, housebreaking with the intent to rob and the unlawful possession of a semi-automatic pistol and ammunition.
Malope told the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday that the only reason why he and a gang of his friends broke into the home which Blondel shared with another priest was because someone had asked him and his mates to find him a computer.
“Innocent asked us to find him a computer and we promised to get him one,” Malope said in his explanation of plea.
His co-accused, Kgaugelo Manzini, 20, Freddy Mahlangu, 21, Themba Sindane, 18, and a 17-year-old. pleaded not guilty to the charges. Their trial was on Wednesday separated from that of Malope and they will stand trial from February 20 to March 2 next year.
Malope, meanwhile, explained that he and his co-accused broke into the Diepsloot house on December 17, 2009. He said he climbed through a window and opened the door for the rest of the gang.
“I found a man in one of the bedrooms (Father Guido Bourgeois), who was sleeping. I pointed the firearm at him and I told him that I need a computer.”
Malope, speaking from the dock, said the priest explained to him where the computer was and also told him and the others that there was another person in the house.
“We went to the other room and it seemed as if the other man had already heard us, as he was standing in the door. I pointed my firearm at him. He tried to walk towards me and I fired a shot. We then took the computer and left,” Malope said.
He also admitted taking R50 cash, a cellphone and a watch from the house. He admitted killing the priest with a semi-automatic pistol, which he said the accused – who is still a minor – had found, together with bullets, in a tavern in Diepsloot.
He said: “I saw a man and I shot him in the neck. He died and we ran away.”
Malope said he knew that what he did was wrong and that he had no right to enter the priests’ home.
In an affidavit before the Atteridgeville District Court during an earlier bail application, he claimed that he shot the priest accidentally when he saw the man was going to press a panic button.
His co-accused at the time admitted that they were on the scene, but denied taking part in the shooting.
Arguments relating to sentencing were due to commence on Thursday. - Pretoria News