A Namibian man who killed two cops has shown no remorse and must get life in prison, the Western Cape High Court heard.
|||Cape Town - A Namibian man who killed two police constables in Cape Town has shown no remorse and must be sentenced to life in prison, the Western Cape High Court heard on Wednesday.
Samantha Raphaels, for the State, said Fabianus Fillipus had not shown the court any reason to deviate from the minimum sentence of life prescribed for killing a police officer on or off duty.
“What makes this case unusual is that nothing was taken from the officers, no firearms or nothing,” she told the court in argument in aggravation of sentence.
“It is clear that the accused was purely there to shoot and kill. There was a direct intention to kill those officers.”
She asked the court to impose two life sentences for the murders, and five-year sentences for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Fillipus, 29, was convicted last week of murdering constables Pindiwe Nikani, 26, and Mandisi Nduku, 27.
The constables were shot dead while on duty at Imizamo Yethu, in Hout Bay, last October.
Nikani died on the scene and Nduku, who was seriously wounded, died later in hospital.
Raphaels said both officers were killed “execution style”, and submitted that this was an aggravating factor.
“From July [2013] 'til today, seven police officers have been killed in the Western Cape alone... it has become almost an epidemic where criminals seek to take out those who are meant to protect the community,” she said.
Relatives of the policemen and off-duty police officers packed the courtroom.
Fillipus, sporting an ivory cross with a striped jersey and jeans, was emotionless and stared straight ahead of him.
Nikani's husband Simon Mkwani testified in aggravation of sentence.
He told the court his mother was looking after their two-year-old daughter, even though she was in poor health.
He thanked the police for securing a conviction, but said this would not bring back his old life.
“I'm left alone with no woman because of one man who took her life and her colleague's life as well,” he said.
Fillipus's lawyer Rael Kassel said the killings were not premeditated.
Sapa