An Ulundi policeman lost faith in the criminal justice system after his baby daughter was raped – and now he will spend the rest of his life in jail for murdering two fellow police officers and the alleged culprit.
In a guilty plea, confirmed this week by Judge Dhaya Pillay, sitting in the Mtunzini High Court, the policeman – who cannot be named to protect the identity of his daughter – admitted being angry at the handling of the alleged rape of his daughter by a boy aged 13.
His shooting spree was preceded by an angry row in the office of the local police superintendent.
According to evidence before the court, the child was allegedly raped by the boy in January 2009 when she was just two-and-a-half. The youth was arrested, appeared in court and was released into the care of his guardian.
But the policeman believed he was being treated leniently and that the case was not being investigated properly.
In the presence of police clerk Joyce Fikile Gumede, the policeman complained to Ulundi superintendent, Pridesworth Bongiwe Masemola, but, he said, “they treated me badly”.
In his written plea, the policeman said in May that year the investigating officer in the rape case, Zephania Ntshayintshayi, had called him, asking him to bring his daughter to a child protection awareness function organised by the Ulundi police station.
Just after the function started, he had seen Ntshayintshayi and Gumede standing outside.
“I was angry at them as they had not handled my child’s case the way they should have. I was also angry at Gumede and Masemola for treating me badly.
“I drew my service pistol and went to Ntshayintshayi asking if he still remembers me… I then pulled the trigger, hitting him twice. Gumede tried to run away, but I shot her several times in the back.
“I then went around the tent looking for Masemola...”
He said that, when he found her, he shot her several times without noticing which part of her body he was shooting at.
Both Gumede and Masemola died.
The policeman then drove to the alleged rapist’s school.
After forcibly dispossessing a security guard of his firearm, he took the teenager out of the school and shot him as he was leaning up against a wall.
As he fled, he threatened another man with his gun, telling him to keep quiet.
He went home and shot himself, but survived.
Judge Pillay sentenced him to 15 years in jail for the murder of Gumede, 24 years for the murder of Masemola, seven years for the attempted murder of Ntshayintshayi, 15 years for robbing the security guard of his pistol and two years for pointing a firearm.
These sentences all run concurrently with the life sentence he received for the murder of the alleged teenage rapist. - The Mercury