Cape Town - The state has called for life sentences for convicted murderer George “Geweld” Thomas and his cohorts and said the court had a duty to send out a strong message or face anarchy on the streets.
Security was extra tight in courtroom 1 of the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday morning and everybody - including advocates - were searched as they entered the courtroom. At least twenty police officers were stationed at the back of the court, many wearing bullet proof vests while a further five officers were stationed in the public gallery.
Earlier this month, Thomas and 16 other men were convicted on more than 150 charges, ranging from murder to attempted murder, racketeering and the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. Alleged gang boss Thomas was convicted of seven murders.
State prosecutor Advocate Willie Viljoen on Wednesday called for life sentences and said he believed the court had a duty to send a strong message to the youth.
In a lengthy closing argument, he told the court that all the murders had been pre-planned and that none of the accused had shown any remorse.
Viljoen called them “heartless” in their actions and said the community was asking for protection against gangs and the kind of deeds they had already been found guilty of.
Describing the murders as “goal orientated” and committed without conscience, Viljoen implored the court to send a strong message. He said there was a risk the men would repeat offend because they were sworn gangsters and “if the sentences are too light, it’ll lead to chaos and anarchy and will minimise the authority of the State and the courts, and that is the sort of chaos that gangs thrive in”.
Viljoen argued that gangsters killed people without reason only to protect other gang members or those who smuggled drugs and added that the sentence needed to be such to prevent young people from joining gangs which would only result in them committing murder, an early death or life imprisonment.
He said: “Your choices become about which gang to belong to - the 26s, the 27s or the 28s - and then you are marked for the rest of your life, especially if you have been branded with tattoos.”
The prosecutor also ruled out rehabilation, calling it “wishful thinking”.
Usually, the court would take into account the number of years the accused had spent awaiting trial. In this case, the trial only got underway four years ago, but Viljoen asked the court not to take this very seriously as it was essential to protect the public and the witnesses against the men who had been convicted.
He also told the court that Thomas had had a caring mother and a good education, but at just nine years old he had begun his life of crime when he was convicted of housebreaking.
Viljoen said Thomas could not be considered a breadwinner as he had spent almost half his life - 24 years - behind bars and had found jail his “natural home”. The 49-year-old had even been found guilty of organising murders from his jail cell.
While some of the accused had no previous convictions, Viljoen argued that that could be because witnesses were intimidated or murdered.
Thomas sat slouched in his seat throughout Viljoen’s arguments, while his co-accused looked equally bored.
The case was adjourned until later on Wednesday when it was expected the judge would postpone the matter for sentencing.
ANA