The families of shooting victims Johanco Fleischman (19) and Jessica Kuhn (21), who died on the Putfontein bridge on May 26, 2019, have welcomed the sentencing of Melusi Gift Shima (25) and Ishmael Hlabathi (36).
Shima and Hlabathi were each sentenced to two life sentences for the murders in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court on April 4. The sentences will run concurrently.
Shima and Hlabathi, both from the N12 informal settlement near Cloverdene, were found guilty on two counts of murder each on April 1. They were found not guilty on a third charge, which is robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Fleischman and Kuhn were shot and killed while waiting for help after their vehicle ran out of fuel that fateful Sunday morning.
The couple and two workers, who escaped the scene, were en route to Benoni from a pig farm in Kendal, Delmas.
According to the post-mortem reports, Johanco was shot four times, including in the back of the head, and Jessica three times, including in the face and chest.
On June 18, 2020, the police followed up on information led by the Provincial Organised Crime Unit that resulted in the arrest of Shima and Hlabathi. The pair pleaded not guilty.
The mothers of the victims, Marika Fleischman and Johanna Kuhn, who battled to hold back their tears throughout the sentencing, said they were relieved that justice has been served.
Fleischman told the City Times she was happy about the verdict because it was something the family had hoped for.
Kuhn shared they will find peace now her daughter’s killers have been given a life sentence. In her victim impact statement, Kuhn said that emotionally as a family they cannot accept Jessica’s death. She told the court that since the murder of her daughter, she has been diagnosed with depression.
She added that Jessica had a sparkling personality and worked at a nursery school in Thembisa. The mother said she was deprived of seeing her only daughter get married and have children.
Johanco was described as his mother’s rock, a hard worker who loved kwaito music and someone who was a friend to people of all races.
Sentencing
During sentencing, magistrate Ian Cox said the killing of the two youngsters was brutal and senseless.
He said according to the Constitution, everyone has the right to life, but in this case the perpetrators broke that law by taking the victims’ lives.
“The sentence serves as a message to the community at large to not commit such acts,” Cox said.
He told Shima his actions were in contradiction to what he was studying – policing – and that while he aimed to protect the community, he violated these principles.
To Hlabathi, who has a 12-year-old child, Cox said he finds it sad for a parent to be sentenced for more than one reason; a father has to set an example for his child.
“The suspects must have seen the victims from the squatter camp and decided to end their lives. The victims were still young. They posed no threat to anyone,” said Cox.
He added the intentions of the accused were clear due to where the victims were shot in their bodies and that the questions the families have about why their children were killed will never be answered.
The victim impact statements of both families, which were read out in court, Cox said, made it clear the victims’ deaths left a void for their parents and everyone who knew them.
He said both victims’ parents have been deprived of seeing their children become something in life.
“It is unnatural for a parent to bury their child. It should be the other way around,” said Cox.
The court found the actions of both accused were premeditated. Tashnee Ramchuran represented the State.
Evidence
The court heard that when the victims took the Putfontein bridge off-ramp to park their vehicle, one of the two workers who were travelling with them went to the petrol station while the other opened the bonnet of the double-cab bakkie to check the battery.
According to the worker who remained with the couple, while Fleischman was outside the vehicle and speaking to his girlfriend through the car window, three men approached the vehicle.
The worker said the men said, “ai mlungu” (ai white man) and then gunshots followed.
The worker told the court that while fleeing the scene, shots were also fired at him, but he wasn’t harmed. Realising the danger, the second worker who had gone to the petrol station also fled when he heard gunshots.
He ran towards the N12 highway, where he was robbed of his phone and money.
Another witness, who notified the police a year later about Shima and Hlabathi’s involvement, said he saw the two accused run past while he was drinking at a shack near to where the bakkie broke down.
He said the first accused (Shima) was in front and had a firearm in his hand and that a third man, who was also at the same shack, got up and ran with the accused.
The witness said after a while, he heard no less than seven shots being fired.
He stood up and saw the two accused running towards the squatter camp, jumping fences. He moved to KwaZulu-Natal for a year out of fear, but when he came back he felt compelled to report the matter to the police.
The witness testified he knew the first accused (Shima) by sight and that he would often buy cigarettes from the second accused’s tuck shop.
About the accused
Shima was studying towards a policing diploma at a Johannesburg college. He told the court on the day of the incident he was at home the whole day, preparing to go to school the following day. He testified he didn’t know his co-accused, however, he knew him by sight.
Hlabathi, who ran a tuck shop for six years, denied knowing Shima and the third suspect.
Also Read: [WATCH] Loved ones bid farewell to Putfontein murder victim, Johanco Fleischman
Also Read: Double life sentences for men who murdered couple on Putfontein bridge
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