Cape Town - Surita Cowley lost her “whole world” the day her only son, Olwyn, was shot and killed for his car. On Wednesday, Cowley persevered through an emotional testimony punctuated by sobs, while her son’s killers watched from the dock in the Western Cape High Court.
She was giving evidence in aggravation of sentence in the trial of Jason Elias, Soegbudien Abvajee and Rameez Felix, who have been found guilty on charges related to Cowley’s murder and robbery.
The 21-year-old’s body was found dumped in the bushes at Monwabisi Beach, off Baden Powell Drive, on August 30, 2012, after he had been shot in the head.
The day before, he had met his murderers who posed as potential buyers for the BMW he had advertised on the Gumtree classifieds website. He was shot during a test drive of the car.
Elias and Abvajee were convicted of murder, robbery and possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition. Felix was convicted of the theft and possession of a firearm while a fourth man, Shawaal Staggie, was acquitted of all charges.
When she spoke about her son, Surita Cowley’s voice cracked. She told the court his father had committed suicide when Olwyn was 13 and that she had raised him alone. They had developed a very strong bond. Now she would never see him married, or hug her grandchildren.
“Some days this feels like a nightmare.”
She had thought Olwyn would take care of her when he was older.
“I don’t have a father, or a husband or Olwyn.”
“Olwyn was my whole life - we used to pray together in the morning… And then this incident happened and they took my son away.”
Cowley said she wanted to contact each of the accused when the matter was finalised.
Asked her opinion of an appropriate sentence, she said: “I don’t know much about sentencing - they know what they did. A lengthy sentence will be good, but it doesn’t matter, I’ll never get my son back.”
Before her testimony, Abvajee wanted to address the court.
He said he was sorry for what he had done and that although he did not do it alone, he wanted forgiveness.
“I’m going to take my punishment like a man… but I am asking for your forgiveness,” he told her.
During closing arguments, William Booth, for Elias, argued for a lesser sentence than the prescribed sentence, saying “any period in prison is going to have a major impact on him and his family”.
Advocate Mornay Calitz, for Felix, asked the court to consider that Felix had already spent more than two years in custody.
Tanya Nockler, for Abvajee, said her client’s remorse was genuine. He was 55 years old, had six children, was not in good health and had spent at least 36 years in and out of the prison system.
“He was not a person who woke up with murder in his heart that morning.”
Prosecutor Jacomina Swart argued that the murder was brutal since Cowley was shot more than once.
Cape Argus