|
|
Nigeria: South African Court Convicts Two Mozambicans for Killing Local Child
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Daily Champion (Lagos)
14 March 2008
Posted to the web 14 March 2008
Lagos
Johannesburg High Court yesterday found two Mozambicans guilty of the murder of a two -year -old Nigerian child,Tsaihai Obiekwu.
Steven Hlongwane, 18 and George Nyangale, 32, were convicted on four-count charge of unlawful entry, robbery, unlawful possession of firearms and murder.
They were said to have shot and killed little Obiekwe during a robbery operation on April 12,2007 at a house in Johannesburg.
The accused persons had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Delivering judgment the presiding judge, Justice Moroa Tsoka, said the state had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge held that the prosecution proved through verified and scientifically tested finger prints that the first accused, Hlongwane was at the scene of crime.
The judge further recalled Hlongwane's earlier confessional statement to the police where he said that the second accused person was the one who came with the gun with which they carried out the robbery operation.
On the charge of possession of firearm, the court held that the first accused could not be exonerated because "the second accuser's possession of a gun in this circumstance equals the first accused possession".
"The second accused is the extended hand of the first accused in the planning and execution of the crime.
"It only proves the guilt of the accused beyond all reasonable doubt," the judge held.
The judge said the state witnesses gave evidence without difficulty and praised two Nigerian, who testified for the prosecution for their "truthful testimonies".
"In the circumstances, I have come to the conclusion that the state has proved its case beyond all reasonable doubt and I find the two accused guilty as charged," he said.
|
The judge, however, reserved sentencing of the accused till today.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Daily Champion. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
