Leila Samodien
Justice Writer
ONE of the accused in the so-called Gumtree murder case has admitted to shooting the 21-year-old who tried to sell his car on the classifieds website – but says he did so out of fear for his life.
This is according to a plea document Soegbodien Abvadjee’s defence lawyer, Tanya Nöckler, submitted to the Western Cape High Court yesterday. Abvadjee is one of five people who allegedly had roles in the murder of Olwyn Cowley on August 30, 2012.
Abvadjee said in the statement that on that afternoon, Jason Elias, Shawaal Staggie and Felix had fetched him unexpectedly, after which they drove to Century City.
Later, Staggie had instructed him to pretend to be Elias’s father and to pretend to take Cowley’s BMW for a test drive. “(Staggie) then gave me a firearm, told me it was ‘one up’ (loaded and ready to fire) and instructed me to shoot when (Elias) instructed me to do so – or to be shot myself,” the statement read.
During the “test drive”, he had sat in the back seat while Elias had driven and Cowley had sat in the front passenger seat.
According to Abvadjee, Elias had indicated to him to shoot Cowley and Abvadjee had then shot Cowley over the headrest, wounding him.
Cowley had cried out to be taken to a doctor.
“(Elias) cleaned the windscreen and ordered me to shoot the deceased again,” Abvadjee continued in the document.
“He ordered me to shoot (Cowley) ‘through the head’.
“I again, for fear of my life, did so. I shot (Cowley) three times.”
Later in the document, Abvadjee said he and Elias had driven to an area on Swartklip Road, past Khayelitsha, to hide the body in bushes.
In court yesterday, the accused pleaded before Judge Anton Veldhuizen.
Four of them – Elias, Staggie, Felix and Abvadjee – face charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The fifth accused, Tania Majiet, has been charged on two counts for allegedly being an accessory to the robbery and murder.
The State alleges that Majiet was given Cowley’s cellphone and that his car was cleaned at her house.
All five pleaded not guilty to all of their respective charges, except Abvadjee, whose pleas to the charges in court differed from what the plea entered in his plea document.
The prosecutor did not accept his plea.
Judge Veldhuizen then noted not guilty pleas on all counts for Abvadjee.
The version set out in Abvadjee’s statement would then be treated as admissions.
Elias and Majiet both gave plea explanations, with Elias denying involvement in Cowley’s murder, especially in any planning.
In hers, Majiet also denied any involvement, saying she had not known the cellphone had been involved in a murder and robbery case.
The trial is expected to begin today.