A former police reservist has been convicted of murder for shooting a father of three in in a late-night confrontation with Hanover Park residents during the Covid-19 lockdown in Cape Town.
Marlon Fuller died outside Cascade court after midnight on December 6 2020. He had gone out to call his children inside due to the curfew.
The Wynberg regional court heard that Fuller’s children were part of a group of 15 playing card games outside, not armed or engaged in violent activity.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the police commander at the time testified that reservist Johan van der Merwe was issued with a shotgun, without ammunition, to be used as a deterrent in hostile areas.
“They came across a group of people in front of the block of flats, and they instructed them to go into their houses. They complied. Another group outside Cascade Court did not comply, and the commander heard a loud bang as he loaded a young man into the back of the police van,” said Ntabazalila.
“There were children among the crowd, and the crowd did not have any weapons on them. Nobody gave the accused the round used in the shotgun. His police station did not have any shotgun rounds to issue at the time.”
Van der Merwe testified that he shouted 'lie-down, lie-down' in Afrikaans to the crowd, which became hostile. He tried to call for help via radio but it fell to the ground where he felt a shotgun bullet. He loaded the weapon.
Though he did not have permission to fire the shotgun, he fired the round into the air to control the crowd, he argued in his defence.
The crowd then “erupted” and police fired teargas to disperse them.
State prosecutor Gregory Niemand said despite Van der Merwe claiming to have acted in self-defence all evidence pointed to him acting unlawfully. Police, at the time, did not think it necessary to shoot based on their engagements with the crowd.
Van der Merwe was convicted of murder and illegal possession of ammunition. The matter was postponed to April 14 for sentence.
TimesLIVE
Former SAPS reservist guilty of murder after court rejects 'self defence' claim during lockdown
Image: Gallo Images/Roger Sedres
A former police reservist has been convicted of murder for shooting a father of three in in a late-night confrontation with Hanover Park residents during the Covid-19 lockdown in Cape Town.
Marlon Fuller died outside Cascade court after midnight on December 6 2020. He had gone out to call his children inside due to the curfew.
The Wynberg regional court heard that Fuller’s children were part of a group of 15 playing card games outside, not armed or engaged in violent activity.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the police commander at the time testified that reservist Johan van der Merwe was issued with a shotgun, without ammunition, to be used as a deterrent in hostile areas.
“They came across a group of people in front of the block of flats, and they instructed them to go into their houses. They complied. Another group outside Cascade Court did not comply, and the commander heard a loud bang as he loaded a young man into the back of the police van,” said Ntabazalila.
“There were children among the crowd, and the crowd did not have any weapons on them. Nobody gave the accused the round used in the shotgun. His police station did not have any shotgun rounds to issue at the time.”
Van der Merwe testified that he shouted 'lie-down, lie-down' in Afrikaans to the crowd, which became hostile. He tried to call for help via radio but it fell to the ground where he felt a shotgun bullet. He loaded the weapon.
Though he did not have permission to fire the shotgun, he fired the round into the air to control the crowd, he argued in his defence.
The crowd then “erupted” and police fired teargas to disperse them.
State prosecutor Gregory Niemand said despite Van der Merwe claiming to have acted in self-defence all evidence pointed to him acting unlawfully. Police, at the time, did not think it necessary to shoot based on their engagements with the crowd.
Van der Merwe was convicted of murder and illegal possession of ammunition. The matter was postponed to April 14 for sentence.
TimesLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos