Cape Town - Two men in the Western Cape have been convicted on charges of premeditated murder, two counts of illegal possession of firearms, two counts of pointing of firearms and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
In a statement, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Kwanele Cuba and Sibusiso Fihla were convicted in the Strand Regional Court for the crime perpetrated in 2016.
According to evidence presented to the court by State prosecutor advocate John Damon, Cuba and Fihla entered the home of Phazamile Bula in Zwelihle in Hermanus, Western Cape, while he was watching TV with his family. They threatened Bula and his wife, while demanding Bula’s firearm.
Fihla pointed the firearm at Bula’s wife and children and forced them to lie on the floor. Fihla instructed them to cover themselves with blankets while Cuba pointed a firearm at Bula.
Bula denied owning a firearm. Fihla shot him several times and he died on the scene.
Bula’s wife then handed a key to her daughter, who opened Bula’s safe and handed over her father’s registered firearm to the men.
The men, who were dressed in distinctive leather jackets, fled in a vehicle parked a few streets away from the crime scene.
The men were allegedly stopped by Grabouw police en route to Cape Town. Upon searching the vehicle, officers found two firearms under the vehicle pedals and two cellphones.
Ballistics linked the one firearm, with its serial number filed off, and two cartridges to the crime. The second firearm was the one that belonged to the deceased.
The court was also presented with cellphone records that proved that the men were in communication prior to the murder. Cellphone mapping established their movements from Cape Town to Hermanus.
Cuba was also positively identified during a photo identification parade. The men denied knowing each other, but Fihla’s testimony during his bail application contradicted this.
The State called for life imprisonment for each of the convicted men.
This evidence brought forth by Damon revealed that both men had lied to the court during their plea explanations, when they claimed to have met for the first time on the day the matter went to trial.
After the judgment was handed down, Damon commemorated the investigating officer in the matter, Sergeant Johnwin Smith, who died of Covid-19-related complications before he could hear the outcome of the case.
Sentencing proceedings are set to begin on August 2.
African News Agency (ANA)