Durban - It was an emotional day of closure for the widow of slain police constable Vidhur Jadoo as nine men convicted of his murder were sentenced to life in prison at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday.
The men were convicted of killing K9 unit constable Jadoo, 37, who died in a shoot-out in Howick on November 7, 2012, as he responded to the scene of an ATM bombing in Howick after receiving word that his colleagues were under siege by AK47-wielding robbers.
Jadoo pulled up alongside the vehicle of the robbers and came under fire. He was shot in the head and died on the scene.
A tearful Ashreena Jadoo, told the Daily News after the sentencing that while it had been a long and traumatic four years, she and her family felt like justice had finally been served.
“It has been very emotional, but I have had a massive support system from family and friends, and the SAPS K9 Unit has been there for me. I am so grateful to them,” the petite young woman said.
She added that her husband was killed just two weeks before they would have celebrated their third wedding anniversary.
“I miss him every day,” she said.
Judge Yvonne Mbatha sentenced Jadoo’s killers to two more life terms for the murders of Sizwe Gule and Patricia Nkosi in Utrecht in December 2012, plus 195 years for bombing ATMs in Howick, Merrivale, Nottingham Road and Greytown.
The charges the men were convicted of included eight counts of attempted murder and multiple counts of contravening the Explosives Act, robbery with aggravating circumstances, causing an explosion and the unlawful possession of explosives.
Eight of the nine accused were sentenced to a further 35 years for unlawful possession of machine rifles, prohibited firearms, ammunition and explosives.
The men are: Thembela Ngubane, 27, Menziew Mdakane, 28, Sifiso Mdakane, 32, Sisfiso Khubeka, 28, Sibongiseni Msibi, 33, Sphelele Dubazane, 27, Muthikabani Buthelezi, 31, Mthenjwa Buthelezi, 27, and Lungisani Dladla, 32.
All the men are from Johannesburg and were either employed in the taxi industry or car wash industry at the time the crimes were committed.
Mbatha found the men formed a syndicate with the sole purpose of targeting ATMs in KwaZulu-Natal.
The crimes were all committed between September 28, 2012 and January 13, 2013.
Eight of the men were arrested in Jozini on January 13, 2013, and found in possession of 119 AK-47 rounds, three AK-47s, a .45 ACP pistol, explosives and electric detonators.
Mbatha said while there was nothing wrong with an accused person professing his innocence to the end, she could not ignore that the denial by the accused indicated they had shown no remorse.
“All these crimes were committed during a short period, four months, which also indicates they acted as an organised group, and premeditated their crimes,” the judge said.
Mbatha made numerous references to the miracle that people survived their trauma at the hands of the gang, and the onslaught of high-calibre gunfire.
However, some were not fortunate enough to escape with their lives, and three innocent people were killed because of the gangsters’ greed.
Jadoo was killed in the line of duty, while Gule, 29, and Nkosi, 31, were shot while on their way to work.
“They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. These were three people in the prime of their lives,” the judge said.
“The ruthlessness of the accused cannot be compared to anything, save to say that they have no regard for human life.
“These crimes were not worth the lives of the people killed, or the lives of those scarred and crippled as a result of the actions of the accused,” Mbatha said.
The judge granted the accused leave to appeal their convictions and sentence.
She said while she stood by her judgment, because of the involved nature of the case, and the marathon, 15-month trial, she was of the view that leave to appeal should be granted to a full bench.
Slain K9 Police Constable Vidhur Jadoo and his wife, Ashreena, in this Facebook image.
Daily News