By Mariette le Roux
The two soldiers who shot dead Lieutenant Sibusiso Madubela after his deadly shooting spree at the Tempe military base in Bloemfontein last year, had acted bravely and should not face charges, an advocate told a judicial inquest on Tuesday.
Three regimental police officers who ran away from Madubela on that day should, however, be prosecuted on charges of culpable homicide.
Advocate Colin Steyn, for the State, argued that Sergeant Major Aldo Mattheus and Lieutenant Anton Otto had probably saved the lives of other colleagues by bringing and end to Madubela's "murder spree".
"One shudders to think what could have happened had Lieutenant Madubela managed to get past them," said Steyn in his closing argument.
"He would have had an open field and would have been able to proceed with a second round of shooting."
Madubela was apparently on his way back to the centre of the 1 SA Infantry Battalion, where he had already shot dead seven white colleagues and wounded several others.
"He would have caught the medical staff unawares as they were busy treating the injured," Steyn said.
Madubela still had 16 rounds of ammunition in his R4 rifle at that stage.
He shot dead six soldiers and a civilian woman at the Tempe military base on September 16 last year.
He wounded five others, before being killed in a shootout. One of the injured, Major Zirk Coetsee, died in hospital a week later, bringing the total death toll to nine.
Steyn said Otto and Mattheus, who fired at Madubela outside the weapons' store, had acted bravely and at great risk to their own lives.
"Shooting him was the only way to stop him," he said.
"They most likely saved the lives of other colleagues on the base."
Advocates James Gilliland, for the families of Madubela's victims, and Bertie Fourie, for the SA National Defence Force, agreed that Otto and Mattheus should not face any charges.
However, Gilliland argued that three regimental policemen who ran away from Madubela on the day of the shooting should be prosecuted on charges of culpable homicide.
He argued that Abel Ramodula, Isaac Lipoko and Monnapule Kotoane contributed to the deaths of Madubela's last two victims by failing to disarm him.
The inquest previously heard the three saluted Madubela as he entered the duty room that morning, before running off.
He apparently went to the duty room to obtain more ammunition, before proceeding to kill staff Sergeant Richard Douglas and Sergeant Willie Nell.
Gilliland argued the three men had all conceded they knew of the shooting on the base by the time Madubela entered the duty room.
They also testified that Madubela had never pointed his rifle at them. They were very close to him, and were in an ideal position to disarm him, even though they were unarmed themselves.
Madubela had not been a big man, about 1,68m tall and weighing about 55kg.
"Nothing prevented them from trying to grab his firearm," said Gilliland.
"As to the argument that they were shocked, how is it that they still had the presence of mind to salute him, yet were unable to disarm him?"
Fourie rejected Gilliland's argument, saying even if the three regimental policemen had known Madubela was the gunman, trying to arrest him would have been "suicidal".
Steyn disputed Gilliland's statement, saying any normal person considered his life to be more important than that of anyone else.
"Only he who has qualities of heroism will sacrifice his own life for that of another," he said.
He argued that even though the magazine had been removed from Madubela's rifle at that stage, it was still possible a single round could be contained in the firearm.
"Considering this, they might have been in danger, and expecting of them to disarm Lieutenant Madubela would have been completely unreasonable."
Steyn described the gunman's attack as cold-blooded, calculated and unexpected, saying his victims posed no threat to him.
Madubela fired about 44 shots in 30 minutes, and tried to kill at least 12 other people.
Regarding a possible motive, Steyn said Madubela appeared to have been driven by racial prejudice, and his attack was aimed at revenging a misplaced feeling of having been wronged.
The shooting spree was apparently prompted by Madubela's salary having been frozen after he was declared "absent without leave" (Awol) for not returning promptly from his father's funeral. His actions were all the more incomprehensible because he knew exactly how the procedure worked for terminating the salary of a soldier on Awol, said Steyn.
"He was the architect of his own problems and of his own downfall."
Madubela started shooting at the training headquarters building, where he killed clerk Marita Hamilton.
He then proceeded to the battalion headquarters, where he shot dead Sergeant Major Reginald Sieberhagen, Major Jacques Coetzer, Sergeant Tertius Lombard, and wounded Coetsee, who died later.
At the adjacent personnel section building, Madubela shot dead Sergeant Major Johannes Lombard before going to the duty office where he killed Douglas.
Madubela then went to the weapons store, where he killed Nell before being shot himself.
The inquest was aimed at determining the causes of death of Madubela and his victims, and to ascertain whether any living person could be held legally accountable.
Judge Koos Malherbe would make his finding known on Thursday morning. - Sapa