Two gang members have been sentenced to life
imprisonment, along with additional jail terms exceeding 100 years each, for
the fatal shooting of a pregnant woman in South Africa.
The Western Cape High Court handed down the sentences
to Jeremia Fortuin and Ricardo Cloete, who are linked to the Ferodo gang, for
the murder of 21-year-old Shahida Nathan and the attempted murder of six other
individuals.
Nathan, who was eight months pregnant at the time, was
killed in June 2020 when the accused opened fire on a shack in Scottsdene,
Kraaifontein, believing rival gang members were hiding inside.
According to National Prosecuting Authority
spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila, the attackers had been pursuing members of a
rival gang, identified as Alfredo Titus and Ridwaan Smith, who fled into a
nearby house. Mistakenly thinking the rivals had taken refuge in the shack, the
suspects targeted it instead.
At the time of the shooting, Nathan and six others
were inside the shack, socialising when the gunmen unleashed a barrage of
bullets. Nathan was killed, while two men, aged 29 and 37, sustained injuries.
The court heard that Cloete identified the shack to
Fortuin, who was armed with an illegal firearm and carried out the shooting.
Both men fled the scene, leaving behind the victims.
During the trial, the accused denied involvement.
Fortuin claimed he had been intoxicated after attending a party the night
before, while Cloete said he had been under the influence of drugs and only
woke up later that morning. However, the court rejected their accounts, ruling
that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court also admitted hearsay evidence, including
statements from two deceased witnesses.
Fortuin was convicted on 10 counts, including murder,
six counts of attempted murder, gang membership, and illegal possession of a
firearm and ammunition. He received life imprisonment for the murder, along
with additional sentences totalling 107 years.
Cloete was convicted on similar charges, excluding the
firearm-related offences, and was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 96 years.
The court ruled that the additional sentences would
run concurrently with the life term.
Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate
Nicolette Bell, commended the investigative and prosecutorial teams, stating
that the conviction had helped remove dangerous individuals from the community.
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