Two men convicted of killing police officer Steven Britz at Klapmuts police station have asked the court for suspended sentences.
|||Cape Town - Two men convicted of killing 44-year-old police officer Steven Britz inside a Stellenbosch police station in 2014, have asked the Western Cape High Court for suspended sentences.
Last month, Luvuyo Ndevu and Mlindi Mbaliso were convicted of premeditated murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Their co-accused - Anele Pantsi, Khayalethu Waka and Buhlali Phukwano - were acquitted on all charges.
Testifying in mitigation of sentence, Ndevu told the court on Wednesday that he “didn’t know anything about what happened that night”.
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He said: “I would like the court to give me a minimum sentence. I was the one at home. I would love to have an opportunity to raise my kids”.
Ndevu, a 32-year-old former police constable, had been suspended from the police service about a month before the murder.
He had previously worked alongside the victim, Steven Britz, at the Klapmuts police station.
Steven Britz had been manning the station alone on the night of the attack, and was shot execution style – twice in the head.
The police safe was also raided and four 9mm pistols, an R5 assault rifle, a shotgun, hand radio, and ammunition were stolen. The deceased’s pistol was also missing.
Ndevu told the court he was sorry for what happened to his colleague, but was adamant that he did not commit the murder.
His co-accused, Mlindi Mbaliso, showed no remorse when he took the stand in mitigation of sentence.
He laid the blame squarely on Ndevu and said he had only driven the car that night.
Mbaliso said he wasn’t aware Ndevu was planning to kill Steven Britz.
Looking down throughout his testimony he said: “I would like a suspended sentence. I never committed any murder. The firearm that was found on me is not mine, the owner of that firearm is the person I am sitting with here (referring to Ndevu)”.
Read more: Ex-cop guilty of Klapmuts police officer’s murder
Ndevu shook his head in the dock and smiled while his co-accused testified.
Steven Britz’s widow, Lee-Anne Britz, listened intently in the public gallery. She has been left to care for their two sons, aged 13 and 21 years old.
In an affidavit, read out by State prosecutor Kriban Pillay, Lee-Anne Britz said she had been married to Steven for 19 years.
They had two children together, aged 11 and 19 years old at the time of the murder.
Britz said she was woken up just after midnight on April 17, 2014, and informed by her husband’s colleague that he had been murdered.
“The two boys woke up from the talking, and walked into the kitchen, asking what was wrong, as they heard me crying. I told them their dad was murdered. Michael punched the kitchen cupboard with his fist, and injured himself, although he only realised this much later. Matthew started crying and screaming for his daddy.”
She said the impact on their lives had been “unbearable”.
“The children lost their dad and hero, and I lost the love of my life. We feel completely lost without Steven.”
She said she had to be put on heavy medication for depression and anxiety.
Read more: Slain cop’s family in shock as 3 acquitted
She said her eldest son continued to live with “anger that does not dissipate”.
Britz also described the “financial turmoil” suffered by the family since the murder.
Both accused looked unmoved as they listened to the oral submission.
In an affidavit read out to the court by Pillay, Britz’s police colleague, Theodore Carosini, detailed the impact on police officers stationed at Klapmuts.
He said: “This crime caused a big shock, fear, grief and distress to all of the members at Klapmuts SAPS. It was also an embarrassment to our members that one of our own members was involved in this crime. A member that was there to protect lives.”
Carosini said absenteeism had increased, trust between police members had been affected, and police officers had been treated for shock and depression.
Pillay on Wednesday called for life sentences for the two men.
Pillay told the Western Cape High Court that Britz had “died alone in a pool of his own blood”.
“Evidence in the trial suggested that he was made to lie down. He covered his head with his left hand. The first shot would not have been instantly fatal. The second shot was fatal. He was assaulted before he was shot. It is my respectful submission that he died a violent death while on duty at a police station that is considered a safe haven,” Pillay told the court.
He described the crime as “violent, brazen and senseless”.
Pillay said police officers were “being gunned down in a ruthless fashion”.
He told the court that Britz’s wife had compiled an affidavit detailing the impact on her and their two sons, but nothing would ever bring back the life of her husband.
Britz had been a dedicated police officer with 22 years of service to his name.
Pillay added that Ndevu was “clearly an embarrassment to SAPS”.
“He was a violent criminal in the guise of a police officer. Up until this date, he has not thought it necessary to take the court into his confidence. This court found him to be a ‘lying, deceptive and arrogant witness'”.
Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe is expected to hand down sentence on April 28.
African News Agency