Durban - Attorney Phyllina Letlaka, who has been unwavering in her support of her son, convicted axe murderer Joseph Ntshongwana, has filed an affidavit in support of his application for leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Letlaka wants her son to be admitted to a mental institution instead of being kept in prison.
The matter was meant to be argued on Tuesday, but for several reasons, including that Ntshongwana had not been requisitioned to appear in court, the case had to be adjourned. The State was expected to oppose the application.
Ntshongwana, a former Blue Bulls rugby player, was convicted last year by Durban High Court acting judge Irfaan Khalil of four murders, rape, attempted murder, kidnapping and assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm.
He was sentenced to life in prison as Judge Khalil ruled that Ntshongwana had known his actions were wrong and said the defence’s argument that he was suffering from a mental illness did not hold water.
The case, which started in 2012, came after Ntshongwana was found by Judge Kate Pillay to be fit to stand trial after a mental fitness inquiry, when evidence was led that he suffered from schizophrenia with a bipolar disorder.
Letlaka said in her affidavit she had found information that her son had suffered head and spinal injuries before the crimes had been committed and said there should be further evidence led in the matter.
The application papers said the judge should not have dismissed the medical evidence of psychiatrist Professor Abubaker Gangat that Ntshongwana had a delusional disorder and could not be held responsible for his actions.
The papers also said the court had erred when it had found the crimes had been premeditated, and when it had treated Ntshongwana as a “normal person” despite his having been “certified” by five mental institutions.
The papers claimed the court had “paid lip service” to evidence favouring Ntshongwana and had been biased in favour of the State.
“It will be argued that the court should have, on the available medical evidence, found that the applicant was not guilty of the offences or at worst that his mental sickness had something to do with the commission of offences.”
The Mercury