IN an interesting turn of events, the four men convicted of murdering Edleen EMPD officer Martiens Bann have requested a pre-sentencing report today.
This comes after Paul Manyathela (23), Clement Mosweu (26), Lebogang Mdebele (24) and Bheki Nkosi (25) were supposed to be sentenced on Friday after they were found guilty of murder and armed robbery in the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday afternoon.
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They shot and killed Bann on July 11 last year while Bann attempted to help his neighbours, Frikkie and Adele Botha, during an armed robbery at their Flamboyant Avenue home in Edleen.
A pre-sentence report gives a judge more insight into a person who stands accused of a crime, for example his background and the reasons behind why they committed the particular crime.
Depending on factors such as whether or not the accused has committed a crime before, this will either lead to a harsher or more lenient sentence.
Either a probation officer or social worker will now conduct individual interviews with the accused, and based on the findings, will draft a report which will be given to Judge Windell.
During the conviction on Thursday, the court heard that two of the accused had been previously convicted of robbery and housebreaking. Because no previous convictions were found on the other two, chances are they are first time offenders and this will most probably work in their favour.
For the family of the deceased, this just means putting all this behind them would now take even longer.
“We were expecting to put all of this behind us,” the family told EXPRESS.
Mdebele’s older sister maintained her brother was innocent and this whole situation had “put a huge strain on their family”.
“Our father is in hospital due to the stress as we speak,” she told EXPRESS.
The case will be heard again on September 26.
