Cape Town - Judgment in the trial of three men accused of murdering 2-year-old Atlantis toddler Braydon Graaff is expected in the Western Cape High Court on Thursday.
Renaldo Galant, Charlton Renier and Andrew Hendricks, appearing before Judge Thandazwa Ndita, face charges of murder, attempted murder, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
Braydon was shot during a gang shoot-out while in his mother, Rostan Graaff’s, arms. The bullet that killed the toddler hit his mother’s hand before entering his chest. The 2-year-old, his mother and a neighbour were hit by bullets near their homes in Robinvale during the shoot-out on October 22, 2016.
The three accused men, allegedly members of the G-Unit gang, were arrested soon after the shooting. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
It is alleged they were travelling in a blue Volkswagen Polo belonging to Renier’s sister on the day of the shoot-out, and that on the same day they attempted to kill Dennic Hendricks, 24, in Sampson Way, Atlantis, and hit a man with a gun.
At the time of the shoot-out, police had declared the area a “war zone” due to a turf war between the Americans and the 28s gangs.
A State witness, who couldn’t be named, said he and a group of friends were smoking dagga 10m from where a volley of bullets was fired.
The witness said Galant was wearing a black hoodie. He said he couldn’t see what the other accused were wearing because his eyes were fixed on a gun Galant handed to Renier, who he said fired a shot at a man before firing another shot that killed Braydon.