Spes Bona killer is good, says family
Family members of murder convict Jevon Snyman say they are heartbroken that he faces a possible life behind bars.
|||Cape Town - Family members of murder convict Jevon Snyman say they are heartbroken that the 22-year-old faces a possible sentence of life behind bars.
Snyman was convicted in July on the principle of common purpose, for the murder of 18-year-old high school pupil Glenrico Martin.
His co-accused, Wilston Stoffels, is already serving a 24-year sentence for the murder, after entering into a plea bargain with the state.
The 2013 shooting sent shockwaves through the Western Cape as it happened on the school premises of Spes Bona Secondary in Athlone.
Evidence during the trial indicated it was a revenge attack in a gang war.
But family members of Snyman have described him as a “good boy” and say they are shocked he was involved in a gang.
His aunt, Kathleen Rix, was at the Western Cape High Court on Thursday to hear arguments in aggravation and mitigation of sentence.
She told African News Agency “my heart is sore. I can tell you Y is a crooked letter, but I can’t tell you what happened or why he was in a gang.”
The 22-year-old grew up in the gang-infested area of Bokmakierie on the Cape Flats, but his family say they didn’t know he was part of a gang himself.
Rix said “he was like an angel to me.”
Family friend, Muriel Susa, echoed her sentiments and said “he was his mother’s softest child”.
She believes he was being used by gang members and had been influenced by the wrong people.
But arguing in aggravation of sentence, prosecutor Mziwanele Jaxa told the court that belonging to a gang is a “matter of choice.”
He said Snyman had played a “mastermind role” in the killing as he had gone to the school disguised in the Spes Bona uniform, and while he hadn’t pulled the trigger he had handed over the gun to his co-accused Wilston Stoffels.
Jaxa called for the prescribed sentence of life behind bars as the murder had not been an act by a “naive young man” but had in fact been planned.
Defence lawyer Mohamed Sibda asked the court to consider a sentence less than the maximum, however, as he said “the legacy of apartheid” had created communities where “inherent violence” exists.
He said Snyman was a “victim of the circumstances he was born into and the influences he was under”.
He asked the court to give Snyman a chance to reform, saying he would “atone for the crime” and should not be jailed for the maximum length of time as he would be able to reintegrate into society.
Judge Lister Nuku will hand down sentence on October 22.
ANA