Gun blazes in court

20 August 2014 - 02:02 By Graeme Hosken
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SHOT IN THE HEAD: Paramedics rush Constable Eddie Ngobeni from the Pretoria Magistrate's Court after he was critically injured while trying to save his colleague, Sergeant Theophilus Mogafe
SHOT IN THE HEAD: Paramedics rush Constable Eddie Ngobeni from the Pretoria Magistrate's Court after he was critically injured while trying to save his colleague, Sergeant Theophilus Mogafe
Image: GRAEME HOSKEN

Security at law courts will be reviewed after a man standing trial for nine armed robberies shot a Pretoria policeman - who was trying to save his colleague's life - in the head at the Pretoria Magistrate's Court yesterday.

"They wanted to execute [the policeman]. They wanted blood. That man pushed the policeman to the ground and fired ... straight into his head," said an eyewitness.

Within minutes of yesterday's execution-style shooting and the two prisoners' escape, the Pretoria Magistrate's Court was evacuated and heavily armed police flooded the building.

Just before the tea recess, robbery accused Lucky Segwape, 28, and Nthabeleng Matlatfi, 26, overpowered court orderly Sergeant Theophilus Mogafe as he went to bring them from the cells.

It is believed the two accused - who are standing trial for house robberies and possession of unlicensed firearms - smuggled a gun into the cells of courtroom 7 as they arrived for their trial.

As Mogafe approached their cell, one of the men fired at him, grazing his back. The prisoners grabbed the cell keys from Mogafe and freed themselves.

Constable Eddie Ngobeni, a witness in another case, rushed to investigate. As he opened the courtroom door to the cells he was pushed to the ground, the gun rammed against his head and a shot fired.

He is in a serious condition in a Pretoria hospital.

A courtroom assistant, who asked not to be identified, said the shooting was intended to kill.

"We heard the [sound] of the first gunshot. I dived under the stenographer's desk, hiding behind her. It went quiet. As I looked over the desk I saw the prisoner pushing the policeman to the ground. He was trying to fight back but he had no chance.

"The man bent down, put the gun to his [Ngobeni's] head and just shot. They wanted to execute him. They wanted blood. He fired straight into his head."

Lawyer Neo Beauchamp was in court when Ngobeni was shot.

"They came from the cells with guns. No one knew what was happening ... it was 'bang', then quiet and then more shooting.

"The second policeman [Ngobeni] was trying to help his colleague [Mogafe]. He was fighting hard," said Beauchamp.

A state witness in another case, who can be identified only as MJ, was sitting outside the courtroom when Segwape and Matlatfi ran past her, screaming for the lift.

"I panicked. I heard the gunshots and froze. When they screamed at me I just ran. My shoes fell off. I was trying to run down a passage when a policeman pushed me to the floor and told me to lie still.

"I was so scared. Gunshots going off, policemen screaming, people crying, trying to escape.

"Some just froze. They couldn't move. They were petrified."

Attorney Mpho Nefuri was talking to a prosecutor in the courtroom when she saw Ngobeni being shot.

"There was blood everywhere. It was oozing from his head. In the blink of an eye it was total chaos."

The two men ran out of the front of the building where they hijacked a Pretoria West policeman.

The men, who were being held at Pretoria Central prison, abandoned the hijacked police car in Atteridgeville. With an accomplice, they hijacked a passing motorist.

By last night they had not been arrested.

Nefuri said answers were needed as to how the suspects got hold of a gun.

"Some people here are dangerous. It is not safe. Security needs urgent improvement," she said.

Police spokesman Colonel Khenfani Mogoai said an internal investigation was under way.

"We look at everything - from the time they left the prison to when they got to court and were booked into the cells. We look at their movements, everything they did until the shooting," she said.

Mogoai said two cases of attempted murder, two of hijacking, one of possession of unlicensed firearms and another of escaping from custody were being investigated.

Justice Department spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said the department's security unit was investigating how the two accused came to possess guns.

"We will explore every avenue. We will leave nothing to chance."

Mhaga said there was an urgent need to review court security measures around the country.

"In view of this latest incident, it is something that definitely needs to be discussed. This is the first time a shooting has occurred while a court was in session. It is very disturbing and law enforcement has to investigate how these men got hold of firearms while in the cells of the court."

Mhaga said all courts in South Africa were fitted with scanners to ensure that no contraband was brought into the building.

He said the police and Correctional Services were responsible for security in respect of awaiting-trial prisoners.

In the past three years there have been a number of escapes from courts, including that of convicted bank robber and serial escapee Bongani Moyo who, in 2011, walked out of Pretoria Magistrate's Court.

Convicted Boeremag fellons Herman van Rooyen and Tom Voster tried to escape from the Palace of Justice, in Pretoria, in 2011. They sprayed ammonia into the eyes of security guards.

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