Kekana killed before
2004-06-07 18:00
Pretoria - The man accused of killing baby Kayla, her mother and grandmother, has been found guilty of murdering a man during a hijacking just nine days before the triple slaying.
William Kekana, 19, admitted in the Pretoria High Court on Monday that he kidnapped Jacobus Geldenhuys outside the Pretoria Heart Hospital where the victim had been visiting his wife on July 22 last year.
Geldenhuys was forced into his car at gunpoint, driven to a deserted place and shot execution-style three times in the
head - twice in the forehead. He was robbed of his 4x4 bakkie, wallet, cellphone and firearm.
Kekana also admitted that he had robbed Geldenhuys, but claimed a companion, Charles Fido Baloyi, had shot Geldenhuys and he had not planned nor foreseen the murder. Baloyi died after being wounded in a shoot-out with police.
"We expressly agreed on the hijacking, but didn't talk about shooting or the use of firearms. Upon arriving at the point where the white man was made to get out, I remained in the bakkie while Fido got out with the man and moved away from the bakkie.
"Then between two and three shots went off.
"Fido said he had shot the man because the man was armed and nearly killed him. The main purpose was not to afford the white man an easy opportunity to go and report us. We wanted to make it difficult for him to report us.
"My intention was not to commit any murder in the process of hijacking the vehicle," he said.
Judge Johan Els, however, rejected Kekana's claim that he had not foreseen that a firearm would be used.
He said it was clear both men had loaded firearms with them when they carried out a planned hijacking.
Geldenhuys's firearm used
"I am convinced that they had abducted and transported the deceased to a quiet place so that they could kill him there, as it would have attracted too much attention if they had shot him at the hospital," Els said.
Police confirmed on Monday that the firearm that was robbed from Geldenhuys was used nine days later when one-year-old baby Kayla, her mother Janine Drennan and grandmother, Hester Rawstone, were hijacked and murdered. Drennan and a 17-year-old girl were also raped during the incident.
Kekana admitted guilt to 10 of the 14 charges in that trial, including abducting the three victims, raping a 17-year-old girl and attempting to murder her.
He, however, denied guilt on the murder charges, claiming that Baloyi had shot Kayla, her mother and grandmother and forced him to take part in the crimes.
Final argument on sentencing in the Geldenhuys trial will be presented in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday.
- SAPA