Port Elizabeth - Sentencing proceedings for two men convicted of the cold-blooded killing of 12-year-old Aliya "Angel" Tee was postponed in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Thursday because one of the men claimed to be in too much pain to sit and listen to proceedings.
Last month, Nealon Redhouse, 18, and Deon Harmse, 24, were found guilty of the schoolgirl's murder and the attempted murder of her parents Candice and Edmund Tee.
Harmse told his lawyer that he could not sit in court because he was in pain. He had previously suffered a lung infection and had undergone surgery.
His lawyer said he was unable to consult with his client.
State Advocate Mujaahid Sandan asked that Harmse be examined by a medical doctor to ascertain if he was fit to stand trial.
“The State is not being inconsiderate regarding his health, but we have to think of cost implications. There are witnesses in the NPA witness protection programme who need to travel here,” said Sandan.
The case was postponed until later on Thursday for Harmse to undergo his medical examination.
"Angel" was a Grade 7 pupil and prefect at Strelitzia Primary School in Port Elizabeth's Northern Areas. She was killed in June 2016 when gunmen, posing as police officers, forced open the back door of their Barberry Street home in Bethelsdorp.
Her father was shot and incapacitated while trying to fend off the attackers.He is paralysed and has to make use of a wheelchair.
After the men shot Edmund, they proceeded to look for other family members in the home.
Tee and her mother ran to the bathroom when they were discovered by the gunmen.
After pleading with the men not to shoot, the schoolgirl was shot execution-style in the head. Her mother survived the incident and passed out during the shooting.
She later regained consciousness to discover her daughter’s lifeless body covered in blood.
In his judgment, Judge Mandela Makaula found the motive for the attack was linked to Candice having witnessed the murder of a notorious gang member.