Handing down life sentences for murder duo Jeremiah Fortuyn and Ricardo Cloete, Western Cape High Court Judge Nonthuzelo Ralarala described their actions as despicable acts of violence that haunt Cape Flats communities.
Fortuin and Cloete were sentenced in 2020 for the murder of Shahida Nathan, who was eight months pregnant.
The duo, who were linked to the Ferodo criminal gang in Scottsdeen, Kraaifontein, faced charges including murder, six counts of attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms and illegal possession of ammunition.
Fortuin and Cloete were arrested for the murder of 21-year-old Nathan on June 21, 2020, following an incident in a shootout involving a rival gang, an attack against the Mobsters gang. The court heard that Nathan was not the intended target of the shooting but was an innocent victim.
According to details revealed during the trial, at the time of the incident, Nathan was with six other people in a cottage in Klipbock Street – a drug turf stronghold of the Ferodos gang – when Fortuin fired repeatedly at the cottage, believing that rival gang members were inside.
Judge Ralarala explained that both convicted criminals were repeat offenders who had had numerous run-ins with the law, each having previous convictions in 1997 and 1993 respectively.
According to Judge Ralarala's ruling, the couple had time for rehabilitation because they had “enough encounters with the law to change their conduct”, but despite this, they still chose a life of crime.
The judge said Fortuin, previously released from prison, ran a business selling drugs in the community.
During the trial, both Fortuin and Cloete maintained their innocence and pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
During the sentencing proceedings, Judge Ralarala said that despite the sentencing, both stated that they were not involved in the shooting and murder incidents, with Fortuin's family disputing that he was a gang member.
Judge Ralarala said the sentences handed down to Fortuyn and Cloete should reflect “disgust at such acts”, as the pair had violated the constitutional rights to life and liberty of the Kraaifontein community.
“The victims were attacked in their homes, where they were believed to be safe,” said Judge Ralralala, who cited testimony given by a parole officer who said the couple showed no remorse or accountability for their actions.
During the trial, Fortuin claimed that he was not aware of the shooting incident, as he had reportedly gone to sleep early the night before and was intoxicated from a party that took place in the Klapmuts.
Fortuin, who denied being associated with any criminal gang, said that on June 21, 2020, he was at home and woke up at 9 a.m. because the incident had occurred earlier that day. He argued that the witnesses who had testified to seeing him at the scene were “wrong”.
Despite this, the court heard from the investigating officer's testimony that Fortuin would always take a leadership role when approaching the community in the “Zoo area” during rival gang fights, and that he would deny that Ferodos was the instigator during the fights, but would instead point to the mobster gang as the instigator.
Cloete said in his statement to the court that he was not at the address of the shooting, but after consuming drugs, slept over at a friend's house, which is a neighbor to where the shooting occurred.
During the sentencing proceedings, Judge Ralrala said he was satisfied that the state had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.