Applause as Najwa convicted

2008-12-02 13:58

Cape Town - As demonstrators outside the Cape High Court bayed for the return of the death penalty, Najwa Petersen was on Tuesday found guilty of the execution-style slaying of her husband, music legend Taliep.

Two of her co-accused, hitmen Abdoer Emjedi and Waheed Hassen, were also found guilty of murder.

The third man in the dock, Jefferson Snyders, was convicted only on a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances.

There was a burst of applause from the packed public gallery of the teak-panelled court one as judge Siraj Desai announced his finding on Najwa.

He said she had been an "appalling" witness and her testimony had been neither logical nor consistent.

"It festers with lies," he said.

However, the court was unable to say who actually fired the fatal shot, the judge said.

Desai found Najwa, Emjedi and Hassen guilty of murder and of robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Hassen was also convicted on firearm and ammunition charges - offences for which he was previously convicted in 1997, and served 18 months in jail.

Desai postponed the matter to February 4 next year for sentencing procedures.

Najwa's senior counsel Johann Engelbrecht said he intended calling a forensic criminologist to present as complete a picture as possible of his client.

The criminologist will be Irma Labuschagne, who recently testified in the sentencing of Skierlik shooter Johann Nel.

- SAPA