CAPE TOWN - A gang member has been sentenced to 55 years imprisonment after his conviction in the Khayelitsha Priority Crimes Court for the murder of the father of a Hawks detective, who was investigating alleged underworld figure, Nafiz Modack.
The court convicted Abongile Nqodi on charges of participating in the activities of a gang, conspiracy to commit murder, murder, illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Nqodi was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for murder, with five years suspended on the condition that he is not convicted of murder or attempted murder during the period of suspension, 10 years imprisonment for illegal possession of a firearm, 10 years imprisonment for illegal possession of ammunition, five years imprisonment for participating in the activities of a gang and five years imprisonment for conspiracy to commit murder.
"The court ordered that sentences imposed for participating in the activities of a gang, conspiracy to commit murder, illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition run concurrently with the sentence handed down for murder. The court further ordered that 12 years of the sentence for murder run concurrently with the sentence he is serving for a case he was convicted for at the Cape Town Regional Court."
He is currently serving 15 years imprisonment in that case.
Nqodi told the court that he is a member of the 28s prison gang and a member of the Terrible West Siders operating in Woodstock, Cape Town.
He confessed in his plea and sentencing agreement that on 9 July 2019, that together with Riyaat Gesant, Fagmeed Kelly and Mario Petersen, they drove to an address in Melkbosstrand to kill Hawks detective, Warrant Officer Nico Heerschap.
When they arrived at the address, they saw a white male reversing out of the yard in a bakkie.
"Nqodi and Gesant, who was a backup shooter, got out of their vehicle, went to the reversing vehicle and shot the driver twice in the head," said Ntabazalila.
The deceased was Heerschap's father, Nicolaas Heerschap.
"At the time, Warrant Officer Nico Heerschap was investigating Modack.
"They were paid R25 000 for the assassination, which they split. Nqodi claims he later met Modack in Kuilsriver and he congratulated him on the job well done in Melkbosstrand, and Modack told him not to worry about legal fees as he has covered them. He gave him the name of a lawyer who would defend him.
"Nqodi further claims that Modack told him that he would give instructions to another gang member if he, Modack, wanted something done. He confessed that he murdered the deceased on instructions of Modack and the leader of the Terrible West Siders, Moegamat Toufeeq Brown. He also claimed that Modack funded the murder, " said Ntabazalila.
In an argument for aggravation of sentence, Advocate Adenaan Gelderblom said that the murder was planned and aimed at eliminating a Hawks investigating officer who was investigating Modack.
"Several law enforcement officers and members of the judiciary have become the targets of criminal attacks for doing their legal duties. "He (Nqodi) has agreed to confess against other gang members involved in the murder of Heerschap. He will also testify as a state witness, in the case of the murder of a tow truck driver, the attempted murder of Andre Naude and the conspiracy to kill Cape Town lawyer, William Booth, to which crimes he has already confessed and did pointing outs related thereto," Gelderblom argued.
"The State takes cognisance that its case would have been faced with challenges without the voluntary cooperation of the accused," Gelderblom said.
Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, Advocate Nicolette Bell, appreciated the cooperation of Nqodi, saying the killing of law enforcement officers was a serious crime that should be dealt with harshly if the state intends to fight crime effectively.
Cape Times