The mother of an SA man who has been in a US prison since 1996 has flown to America to be with him, and says she won’t talk to anyone until she has him back in her arms – which could be within the next few weeks.
Busisiwe Chabeli’s son, Azikiwe “Azi” Kambule, was 17 when he was convicted of being an accessory to murder and carjacking in Mississippi in 1996, but was pardoned in January by former governor Haley Barbour. Kambule is now 33.
Kambule’s lawyer, Edward Blackmon, said he was now in the custody of the US Immigration Office, and would be deported to South Africa within the next couple of weeks.
Originally from Soweto, the former Parktown Boys pupil and his parents moved to Jackson, Mississippi, when he was 15. Chabeli had received a scholarship to study psychology at Jackson State University.
“Because of his foreign accent and mannerisms, Azi was teased in high school,” said Blackmon. “This forced him into getting involved in the wrong crowd.
“On January 25, 1996, (Kambule) was driving in a car with Santonio Berry, a man in his 20s who he had befriended,” said Blackmon.
According to Kambule’s statement to police, Berry saw social worker Pam McGill drive by in a sports car and said that he wanted the vehicle. Berry followed McGill home, then threatened her with a gun, telling her to get into the passenger side of her car, and telling Kambule to get in the back. Berry then drove from Jackson to a neighbouring county, stopped the car, and told McGill to get out and follow him into a forest. Kambule stayed in the car.
Kambule stated that he could not see or hear Berry and McGill, but that when Berry returned, he said that he had shot McGill.
A week later the two were arrested, and Kambule was charged as an accomplice to capital murder. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Kambule’s former lawyer, Rob McDuff, said the possible reason he was granted clemency was because of his age at the time of the murder.
“He was a 17-year-old kid in a new country who was pressured by an older person into going along, while that person carjacked and killed a woman,” he said.
“Azi was somebody who got caught up in something that went much further than anybody ever intended.”
“In granting him a pardon, I think the governor showed compassion, mercy and forgiveness,” said Blackmon.