Mom vows to seek justice for murdered witness

’Ashwin was killed fighting for my slain son'

Thulani Mbele Running Matters
Lenasia magistrate’s court where a 27-year-old witness in a murder case was shot and killed by unknown people.
Lenasia magistrate’s court where a 27-year-old witness in a murder case was shot and killed by unknown people.
Image: ANTONIO MUCHAVE

“Ashwin died fighting for justice for my son, now I will die fighting for justice for Ashwin.” 

This is how Delmaine Steffensen expressed her anger hours after Ashwin Mouwers, 33, a witness in her son’s murder, was killed in front of her. Mouwers was shot just minutes before he could take a stand at the Lenasia magistrate ’s court on Tuesday morning.

Two armed men ambushed Mouwers as he, Steffensen, her daughter Teshlyn, and Alan Petersen (another witness) were waiting outside court where a trial for the murder of Steffensen’s child, Clejean, was expected to begin. Ashwin was one of the star witnesses in the state's murder case against Donnel Cooper, who is accused of killing Clejean in a 2021 domestic violence case that escalated into murder.

Ashwin was shot several times in the upper body as he tried to run into the entrance of the court. His co-witness Petersen sustained a minor injury and has since been placed under the witness protection programme. The assailants are still at large.

The incident has reignited the debate about the killings of witnesses and their safety in the country.

Criminologist Willem Els said: “Witnesses dying causes a problem. It’s detrimental. Cases are built around witnesses and if you lose the witness, the case falls apart.

“So the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] should aim to protect witnesses and organise them with the witness protection programs but of course it depends on the circumstances and the case.”

Els said the state often does a lot of effort moving witnesses around the country, changing their names and trying to keep them extremely safe, especially in sensitive cases.

“And if one of your witnesses dies it puts fear in the other witnesses on the case. Your witnesses are always vulnerable. It’s always important to protect our witnesses...”

Cases where witnesses were either attacked or killed.

November 2024: Sicelubuhle Moyo, a domestic worker from Midrand, was shot dead alongside her partner outside the Randburg magistrate's court. She was the main complainant in a case of alleged police brutality in which she claimed to have been tortured by four policemen.

August 2024: A grade 11 boy from Khayelitsha, Western Cape, was shot dead while walking from school. He was a state witness in a criminal case against suspect Yanga "Bara" Nyalara, who was linked to several murders. He was later acquitted in a separate case of mass murder.

In 2024: In the trial of 28s gang leader George “Geweld” Thomas, 11 witnesses were killed, and the remaining 13 witnesses, along with their 18 dependents, had to be placed under witness protection.

May 2023: Christine Gumira, a witness, was shot and killed as she walked to a taxi rank from the Wynberg magistrate's court on Church Street in Cape Town where she had just testified. She had been an accused in a murder cases but had just agreed to be a state witness.

August 2021: Whistleblower in the Tembisa Hospital corruption case, Babita Deokaran, was assassinated outside her home in Johannesburg. She played a crucial role in exposing irregular tenders at Tembisa Hospital in Ekurhuleni.

Steffensen told Sowetan on Wednesday that they had just arrived in court around 9am when they noticed Cooper standing outside texting and calling on his cellphone.  

“I then heard what sounded like fireworks but as I looked, I saw two young guys shooting at Ashwin [Mouwers].

“People ran in different directions. I froze out of shock. The other witness [Petersen] ran and hid in a shop, he later came back wearing a different shirt he bought inside the shop to disguise himself,” said Steffensen. 

A hawker outside court described the scene as mayhem.

“After the shooting, I saw two guys casually walking away from the scene. They did not run, they crossed the road and went into the taxi rank,” he said. 

Steffensen's daughter Teshlyn said rumour had been going around their neighbourhood of Eldorado Park that witnesses in her brother's murder case would be dealt with. 

Teshlyn had been dating Cooper.

“One day my brother beat up Donnel who then left and came back in a car and drove over my brother several times. He died in hospital days later,” she said.

Mouwers’ brother, Victor Maitland, said his sibling had always felt unsafe and was considering not testifying in the trial prior to his death.

“We always prayed before he left for court because he always felt unsafe, but he felt that going to court was the right thing to do. I told him to tell the investigating officer about his concerns. I don't know if he ever did. - Additional Reporting Koena Mashale

SowetanLIVE


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