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Tuesday 29 March 2011
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Two Metro cops jailed TAURIQ HASSEN
T
HE family of slain Lavender Hill resident Ebrahim Adams, who was killed by a bullet from a Metro Police officer in 2008, feels justice has not been served, after the sentencing of two of the officers involved. Metro Police officers Kelvin Pillay and Tyrone Steward were sentenced to eight and nine years respectively in the Cape High Court last week for covering up the killing. They were two of five officers who were on duty executing patrols in Lavender Hill on the night of Ebrahim’s murder in February 2008. Initially both faced charges of kidnapping, assault, murder, defeating the administration of justice and also for dumping the body, after Ebrahim’s body was loaded into the police van and dumped at an isolated spot off Baden Powell Drive. Jason February, the policeman accused of firing the bullet that killed Ebrahim that night, was never charged. His body was found in an open field in Grassy Park shortly after Ebrahim’s murder. February had been shot twice in the head, and an inquest docket opened. A post-mortem determined that he had committed suicide, and a gun was found in close proximity to his body. The other two officers involved, Gail Jacobs and Renier Swart, then turned state witness, with Jacobs eventually testifying in court. It emerged in court that on the night of the incident the Metro Police officers were patrolling through Grassy Park and Lavender Hill when they spotted a group of men in Fawley Court. The group scattered as the police arrived, which led to a chase on foot. Adams, who was part of the group, was on his way to the shop to buy a loose cigarette. Officers Jason February, Tyrone Steward and Kelvin Pillay tracked down Adams, who was hiding between a wall and a parked car. Eric Ntabazalila, National Prosecuting Au-
thority (NPA) spokesman in the Western Cape, explained that February then fired shots at Adams, fatally wounding him as a result. “The officers then requested that the police van be brought closer, where they loaded the body, and the body was later dumped,” says Ntabazalila. Pillay and Steward then dumped the body alongside Baden Powell Drive before fleeing. After dumping the body, the officers visited the Hillstar Traffic Department in Ottery, where they cleaned the blood from the van before returning it to the fleet, says Ntabazalila. Days later, February’s body was found in the bushes in Grassy Park, with a gun close by. Warrant Officer Wynita Kleinsmith, spokesperson for the Grassy Park Police Station, confirmed that Februarie’s body was located in some bushes close to the Zeekoevlei Nature Reserve, with two gunshots to the head. She also added that police opened an inquest docket, but “believed that the officer had committed suicide”. “The pathologist report suggested that it was suicide and a murder docket was not opened with police,” she says. Ntabazalila explained that it had been confirmed in court that February was responsible for the death of Adams, but committed suicide shortly after the incident. “No case has been opened and there were two more officers who turned state witnesses and were present at the court appearance,” says Ntabazalila. After the judgement, People’s Post spoke to a frustrated Fagmia Ismail, Ebrahiem’s aunt. “He never bothered anybody and always interacted with the community, so now he is gone and his killers get eight years. That’s ridiculous,” says Fagmia. “I am very upset at the short sentence, but I’m satisfied that they are not walking free, because they are dangerous men,” says Ismail. Salwa Ismail, Ebrahim Adams’ cousin, believed the sentencing was “too little”, and
REGAL: Simphiwe Dana epitomised the elegance of jazz when she performed on Saturday afternoon at the 12th Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Dana, the winner of seven South African Music Awards (SAMA) for her two albums “Zandisile” (2004) and “The One Love Movement on Bantu Biko Street” (2006), was one of the over 30 local and international acts that presented a sizzling array of jazz at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Friday and Saturday. Photo: Lulama Zenzile
said the family was expecting anything over 15 years. “It will not bring my cousin back, but at least we could have been happy knowing that the people responsible for his death would have been behind bars for a long time. This is just a slap on the wrist,” says Ismail. But the thought of the officers serving time for the crime they had committed was still some consolation. “I am happy that they did not walk free, because these are dangerous people to have walking on the streets. They took my nephew’s life away, and you must sit and wonder who else they can hurt,” Ismail said.
Steward received an extra 12 months to his sentence for his role in assaulting one of the young men in the group on the night, Cheslyn Jacobs. Says Ntabazalila: “They were both found guilty and have already started serving their sentences, but the location cannot be confirmed,” says Ntabazalila.
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