Cop killer displays anger over conviction
Confidence turns to shock for graphic design graduate
NO mercy should be shown to a graphic design graduate found guilty yesterday of gunning down a Port Elizabeth policeman, according to the prosecution, which is calling for a life sentence.
“No mercy was shown to Constable Devin Hattingh when he was shot three times,” state advocate Jason Thysse said.
“Children are now forced to grow up without their father, parents have lost a son and a household has lost an income.”
Hattingh’s son, Darius, 12, sat quietly at the back of the Port Elizabeth High Court, listening to the proceedings.
Judge Phakamisa Tshiki found Nqaba Charles, 26, guilty of murdering Hattingh, 31, while he escorted a Joshua Doore furniture truck to Motherwell on July 28 2014.
Charles’s co-accused, Jabulani Mkaba, 28, was acquitted of the murder due to a lack of evidence against him.
Mkaba remains behind bars, however, due to a string of other pending criminal matters.
Charles, who strolled confidently into court yesterday, displayed first shock and then anger when he was convicted. His bail was immediately revoked.
Tshiki found Charles to be a liar, who had first confessed to the murder and then tried to backtrack on his statement, claiming he had been forced to make the admissions.
Police officers who were in the area when Hattingh was shot in his Polo Vivo vehicle positively identified Charles as the shooter.
Charles fired at the police before fleeing. He was arrested on the scene after a chase.
“The evidence against [Charles] is overwhelming,” Tshiki said.
“It has been proved that he was the author of what happened on the day [Hattingh] was killed.”
Mkaba was arrested only some time later.
His fingerprint was found on the getaway vehicle. He admitted to driving the car earlier that morning.
“In my view, the evidence against [Mkaba] is not sufficient,” Tshiki said.
Charles was accordingly convicted of murder, attempted murder and the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Hattingh’s family looked on as Charles chatted to family members, made an inaudible remark to Thysse and then threw his hands up in the air as he was escorted to the holding cells.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Hattingh’s father-in-law, Timothy Hendricks, said they were relieved that Charles had been convicted.
“It is obviously not the best outcome that both weren’t found guilty, but the court had to rule on the evidence before it,” he said.
Mitigating for the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment, defence advocate Jodene Coertzen said the fact that Charles had failed to show remorse could not be seen as an aggravating factor and that rehabilitation was still a possibility.
Coertzen also said Charles was a first offender and had graduated with a diploma in graphic design.
“He is not your typical criminal; he did something with his education,” she said.
But Thysse said this was exactly why the court should impose the harshest sentence available.
“These actions are not what one would expect of an educated person,” he said.
Sentencing is on March 28.