A SUPPORTER of the anti-crime vigilante organisation People Against Gangsterism and Drugs, who killed a four-year-old girl in a driveby shooting aimed at her father, was on Thursday effectively jailed for 25 years.
Anees Adams appeared in the Cape High Court before Justice Willem Louw, and was sentenced for the murder Sedicka Hendricks and the attempted murder of her father, Faizel Hendricks.
He was also sentenced on four additional counts relating to the unlawful possession of a machine gun, a 9mm pistol and ammunition for both weapons.
The girl died about 8am on November 19, 1998 when she was sent to the driveway at their home to fetch her school bag from her father’s bakkie.
The judge said a young girl had been ruthlessly cut down and grievous harm done to her parents, causing them excruciating grief and pain.
He said an incident of this kind not only seriously grieved the family, but also the very fabric of society.
The community was entitled to protection, he said. The judge said the interests of the community far outweighed the personal circumstances of the accused. A long jail sentence was called for, he said.
The judge said the case demonstrated tragedy in more than one sense. The future of the young accused was also ruined and the court hoped that Adams would spend his years in prison productively. – Sapa