Family gets justice for son’s brutal murder
Durban - “I will never move on.
Credit: INDEPENDENT MEDIA
Stephen Coetzee sr with his partner, Anandrie Lidderd and his late son's best friend, Jacques Nel welcome the life sentences handed down to the killers of Stephen Coetzee jr in the Durban High Court on Friday. Picture: Marilyn BernardDurban - “I will never move on. There are so many things that remind me of my child.”
Those were the words of Stephen Coetzee sr on Friday at the Durban High Court after his son’s killers were sentenced to life behind bars.
The three accused Nkululeko Mkhize, Nhlakanipho Anele Sikhonde and Mxolisi Zwane were found guilty on Thursday of the murder of Stephen Coetzee jr, 22, as well as robbery with aggravating circumstances.
During sentencing proceedings on Friday, Acting Judge Madlala Xolo handed down life sentences, as well as 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances to all three accused.
Speaking outside the court, surrounded by family and friends, the eManzimtoti father recalled how his son threw himself in front of the bullet meant for him.
His head bowed with a pain clearly too great to bear, Coetzee said, “My son jumped in front of me and it was just a split second. I saw his face contort and then he fell.”
The tragic events unfolded on an early autumn evening in May 2012, when four heavily armed assailants entered the Coetzees’ property and tried to steal their car.
The young Coetzee was shot in the head, protecting his father and the suspects crashed the car they were trying to steal into a wall along the driveway. All they escaped with was a cellphone and R250.
“My son loved cars, especially his Beetle. He lived in a flat attached to the house and every morning when I went out, he would come and join me. It was our ritual every morning.
“Nearly four years have passed and sometimes when I go outside in the morning, I stop and wait. And then I remember he’s not here. I will never move on, there are so many things that remind me of my child. We had such a strong bond, much more than just father and son,” said Coetzee.
Family and friends who had gathered at the court described the younger Coetzee as a happy, outgoing person “who never had a bad word for anyone in his life”.
His dogs still run out of the house when they hear his much-loved Beetle being started up, thinking their master has come home.
His best friend from childhood, Jacques Nel, who was with the Coetzee family during the attack said, “Stephen and I were together every day. We were never just friends, we always said we were brothers. He taught me everything I know,” said Nel outside the court.
Once sentence had been handed down, defence attorneys for the accused, Vrema Mahabeer and Marshall Zulu both applied for leave to appeal, which was dismissed.
Independent on Saturday
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