Abdullah Brenner, a hitman in the plot to assassinate Cape Town regional magistrate Wilma van der Merwe, was jailed on Thursday for an effective 10 years.
His co-accused, Ashraf Lee, who unwittingly became involved in the conspiracy, was given a two-year sentence suspended conditionally for four years on a firearm charge.
Cape High Court Judge Hennie Erasmus and assessor Bob Martin agreed with defence counsel Ashley Petersen that Lee would not have been involved had he not been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Of Brenner, the judge said the crime of conspiracy to murder was very serious, as any plot to assassinate a member of the judiciary affected the very fabric of society.
The judge said Brenner had not been part of the initial conspiracy, but was then recruited to do the hit job himself.
”One can only speculate what would have happened had magistrate Van der Merwe unknowingly opened the door when Brenner had knocked,” he said.
He said Brenner was 49 years old and was the father of four children. He accepted argument advanced by Brenner’s counsel Munzhedzi Ramovha that Brenner’s family was also part of the community and were innocent sufferers.
However the suffering of the innocent was often an unfortunate result of crime, and the natural indignation of the community had to receive some recognition from the courts.
The judge said the law stipulated that a conspirator receive the same punishment as the person who actually committed the murder.
Brenner was sentenced for his part in the conspiracy as well as on two charges relating to the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Lee was sentenced only for possession of a firearm. Although he had not in fact possessed a firearm, he was technically guilty on the grounds of common purpose.
Lee’s role had been to ensure that the firearm was returned to the person who had loaned it.
The judge said the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition called for a heavy sentence because nearly every case of murder and robbery involved possession of an unlicensed stolen gun.
This did not mean however that Lee’s case justified a heavy jail sentence.
The judge said Lee in fact had no clue about the plan to murder Van der Merwe when he got into a car with a group of people on their way to Van der Merwe’s home four years ago.
Van der Merwe had been warned, and police were waiting at the house.
Sentencing procedures will continue in respect of the main instigator of the plot, dentist Shaheem ”Doc” Ismail. His case continues on January 25. – Sapa